At the trade deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays geared up for a potential American League East race with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
On the surface, their most significant move by the deadline was acquiring starting pitcher and former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians. Before the trade, Bieber made four rehab appearances, but his last pitch in Major League Baseball was in April of 2024. Even with the addition of Bieber, the Blue Jays’ rotation should remain relatively untouched otherwise.
To shore up their rotation, general manager Ross Atkins swung a trade with the Minnesota Twins for whom Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter called a “sneaky good” deadline pickup on Saturday.
The Trade
Right before the cutoff time for Thursday’s trade deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired first baseman Ty France and reliever Louis Varland from the Minnesota Twins. They sent outfielder Alan Roden and left-handed pitching prospect Kendry Rojas to the Twins.
France, an All-Star with the Seattle Mariners in 2022, has seen his offensive production take a step back after he hit .251 with six home runs and a .678 OPS in 101 games with the Twins. He served as the Blue Jays’ designated hitter in Friday night’s loss against the Kansas City Royals and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Varland, 27, made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2022 and has quickly become one of the more underrated relief pitchers in baseball. Before the trade, he had a 2.02 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 49 innings with Minnesota.
“With a fastball that averages 98.1 mph and a nasty knuckle curve that is carrying a whiff rate just under 40 percent, Varland has the stuff to make an impact in the late innings, and he likely would have slid into the closer’s role in Minnesota after Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax were traded if were not also sent packing,” wrote Bleacher Report’s Reuter.
With Jeff Hoffman and the new arrival of Seranthony Dominguez from the Baltimore Orioles, it’s unlikely Varland will close games for the Blue Jays, but he’s well prepared to take over in that role.
“With club control through the 2030 season and legitimate closer-caliber stuff, acquiring him along with Ty France in exchange for outfielder Alan Roden and left-hander Kendry Rojas has a chance to be one of the steals of the deadline,” wrote Reuter.
How the Blue Jays’ Front Office Views Varland
Varland’s 2.02 ERA now leads the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen, and with a contract that does not see him reach free agency until 2030, he should become a mainstay during late innings.
“Someone that has that much control isn’t an obvious target,” Atkins told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson after the trade for Varland.
“So we were very aggressive in trying to acquire him. It’s not the traditional trade. He has been very effective this year as a reliever, has as good of a fastball as you can find, and as good of a curveball as you can find with a very effective cutter. He can sink it, he’s extremely aggressive, he’s coming after you, and that’s extremely attractive to us. He immediately impacts our bullpen in a significant way.”
Garland also brings versatility to the Minnesota Twins, as he made 22 starts in 89 games with the AL Central club.
Blue Jays Achieve ‘Sneaky Good’ Trade Deadline Pickup