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Blue Jays 2026 40-man Roster Review: Louis Varland set for his first full season with Toronto
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Photo credit: © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 30, 2026, 09:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 30, 2026, 04:21 EST
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Louis Varland is going to be a Toronto Blue Jay for a very long time.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at Ernie Clement. In this article, we’ll look at Louis Varland.
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Varland was drafted by his hometown Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 draft. The 28-year-old made his big league debut in 2022, making five starts and posting a 3.81 ERA in 26 innings pitched.
His 2023 season wasn’t as kind, as Varland had a 4.63 ERA and 5.02 FIP in 68 innings pitched, making 10 starts in 17 games. Varland’s 2024 season was dismal, authoring a 7.61 ERA and 5.54 FIP in 49.2 innings pitched. Finally, the Twins made the decision to make Varland a full-time reliever, something that paid off well for the right-handed pitcher.
In 51 games pitched with the Twins in 2025, Varland had a 2.02 ERA and 2.93 FIP in 49 innings pitched, with a 23.9 K% and 6.6 BB%. Before the trade deadline, the Twins sent Varland and Ty France to the Jays in exchange for prospect Kendry Rojas and young outfielder Alan Roden.
It took Varland a month or so to get acclimated to pitching for the Jays, posting a 7.36 ERA and 3.82 FIP over his first 14.2 innings pitched. He had a strong end to his season, authoring a 1 ERA and 3.14 FIP in his final nine innings to return to John Schneider’s circle of trust.
And oh boy, did Varland ever earn Schneider’s trust. Varland appeared in 15 of the Blue Jays’ 18 postseason games, setting a new record for most games pitched in a playoff run. He was solid as well, finishing those 15 games with a 3.94 ERA and 5.01 FIP in 16 innings pitched, and was an Aaron Judge home run away from even better numbers.
Giving up Rojas and Roden was a sizable haul for Varland, but it’s absolutely worth it. For starters, Varland is under team control until after the 2030 season and won’t hit arbitration until the end of the 2026 season. Another reason to like Varland is that he throws hard, with his fastball averaging 98.1 mph. His secondary pitch is a solid knuckle curveball, while also throwing a slider, sinker, and changeup.
Next season, Varland is projected to have an alright year. Steamer has the 28-year-old posting a 3.45 ERA and 3.48 FIP in 67 innings pitched, with a 24.7 K% and 6.4 BB%. The kindest project for Varland comes from OOPSY, as it has him posting a 3.22 ERA and 3.37 FIP in 67 innings pitched, with a 25.5 K% and 7.6 BB%.
There’s a strong chance that Varland is going to get a ton of leverage opportunities in 2026, and who knows, he could be their future closer.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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