The Toronto Blue Jays made a trade midway through the 2025 MLB season that turned out to be more important than anyone would’ve imagined.
In the end, they got the major league ERA leader for the 2026 season — when you include relievers.
That guy, of course, is Louis Varland.
And at the start of the 2025 season, Varland was a member of the Minnesota Twins.
Louis Varland Trade Details
The Blue Jays got Varland from the Twins on July 31, 2025, just before the MLB trade deadline.
They were pushing back into contention and knew they needed to bolster their bullpen, and Varland was the guy they saw with the potential to help them out.
Ty France came to Toronto in the deal with Varland. They sent Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas to the Twins.
Varland didn’t immediately hit the ground running with the Blue Jays. In 2025, he had put up a 2.02 ERA with the Twins before being dealt but then had just a 4.94 ERA in 23 outings with Toronto. The Blue Jays didn’t use him as a closer at all, because they were still relying on Jeff Hoffman.
He was readily available during the playoff run to Game 7 of the World Series, with 15 appearances and a 3.94 ERA.
Varland was just setting up for what was to come this season.
Louis Varland 2026 Season Stats
The Blue Jays may not have had a great 2026 season, but Varland sure did.
He took over as closer pretty early for Hoffman and ended up with 35 saves.
Varland pitched a lot in non-save spots, too, 71 outings in all — and with a 1.27 ERA.
The impressive right-hander also struck out 97 batters in 78.0 innings pitched.
That 1.27 ERA he put up ended up leading the entire league.
Tampa Bay Rays closer Bryan Baker was second at 1.44, and San Diego Padres star Mason Miller was third at 1.67.
Louis Varland finishes the season leading the league in ERA pic.twitter.com/GBl0CZSi04
— MLB on Real (@MLBonReal) September 27, 2026
It’s quite the achievement for Varland, who was always a bit of a long shot.
He was drafted in the 15th round in 2019 by the Twins out of Concordia University, a small local school in St. Paul not far from where the Twins play.
Varland made his MLB debut in 2022 but was still a starting pitcher for that year and the next one or two before the Twins started to fully commit to him as a reliever.
Only once Varland got to go to the bullpen full-time did he really take off. It turned out he could pitch nearly every day and be just fine health-wise and in his effectiveness.
The Blue Jays sure are glad to have him, because they’ve used his skillset to full effect — and this season, that meant watching Varland shut down the other team pretty much every time he took the mound.
Blue Jays Trade Turns Into League-Leading Star