Toronto Blue Jays stud closer Louis Varland took home the inaugural American League Reliever of the Year Award.
Although the Blue Jays did not win the American League Cy Young Award, as Dylan Cease came in second place to Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees, they did take home the AL Reliever of the Year honor for 2026.
King Louis is the AL Reliever of the Year!
Louis Varland Wins Reliever of the Year Award
The BBWAA voted Varland as the winner, barely beating Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith for the honor.
Varland had 146 total points to Smith’s 133 points, with former Blue Jays reliever Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays finishing in third place with 111 points.
Varland received 16 first-place votes, four second-place votes, five third-place votes, one fourth-place vote, and one fifth-place vote as he appeared on 27 of the 30 ballots. Surprisingly, three voters left Varland off their ballots entirely, which is a head-scratcher. Either way, Varland won the award, and it was well deserved.
Blue Jays Closer Was Incredible
In his first season as the Blue Jays’ closer, Varland had a season to remember for Toronto.
Varland had a 1.27 ERA with 35 saves for the Blue Jays. He pitched in 71 games, throwing 78 IP with 97 strikeouts for Toronto, while racking up an impressive 3.6 bWAR for the club in what was, by far, the best season of his MLB career to date, as he was also named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
The 28-year-old Varland came to Toronto last season in a trade with the Minnesota Twins that they would likely wish they had back, as Varland emerged as a key cog of Toronto’s bullpen during their 2025 World Series run.
Then, in 2026, he showed that he is among the elite relievers in the sport by capturing this inaugural AL Reliever of the Year Award for the Blue Jays, a well-deserved honor for the pitcher.
Next season, Varland will begin the season as the Blue Jays closer, as he filled in after about a month of this season following the struggles of former closer Jeff Hoffman, who, ironically, is now a member of Varland’s old team in Minnesota.
Louis Varland Wins AL Reliever of the Year Award for Blue Jays