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Louis Varland's blunt take on Blue Jays season: 'If you want to win games, pitch us'

Toronto closer and bullpen ace's assessment of disappointing season rings true: "If you want to win games, pitch us."

Published Oct 07, 2026  •  4 minute read

Louis Varland and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate a win over the Baltimore Orioles earlier this season. Getty Images

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Perhaps unwittingly, Louis Varland nailed what ailed the Blue Jays in 2026 with the same precision he shut down opponents during his ferocious first full season as the team’s closer.

“If you want to win games, you’ve got to pitch us,” Varland said on the final day of the failed 2026 campaign when asked about the influence of the bullpen in keeping the team competitive. “A a bullpen, we wanted to pitch. We wanted to be there and pick the guys up.

“I think that was the strong suit of our team this year, so (the coaching staff) did right by using us a lot.”

Indeed, the bullpen was a force for the Jays, a unit that helped the team maintain a pulse into the final couple weeks of the season. With Varland as the ace, they kept the flicker of hope alive, given how dominant such a ‘pen can be in the post-season if utilized properly.

From the beginning of August until the end of the season, the Toronto bullpen ranked first in the American League in ERA (3.00) and second in opponent’s average (.219).

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With Varland flourishing in the closer’s role — and a 1.27 ERA that was the best in the 50 Blue Jays seasons played — the group was the team’s undisputed strength.

Varland remains optimistic that the Jays can head back in the right direction after the wild last, to first, to last run they’ve been on.

“There’s probably many factors, but a lot of stuff we did right, a lot of stuff wrong,” the 27-year-old right hander said. “We just did not end up where we wanted to be.

“We’re going to learn from that next year and we’re going to learn from that this off season and get back on track next year.”

The ultimate consolation exercise is picking a team MVP on a last-place season, but Varland would be in the conversation alongside ace starter Dylan Cease.

The fact that there wouldn’t be a position player at the top of the list — though the terrific rookie season of Kazuma Okamoto is in the discussion — speaks volumes about the type of season the Jays had.

After seizing the closer’s role from wobbly Jeff Hoffman before the midpoint of the season, Varland’s 1.27 ERA was spread out over 71 appearances and resulted in 35 saves. With 97 strikeouts over 78 innings, his shut down ability easily eclipsed his immediate predecessors in the role — Hoffman and Jordan Romano.

“He just wants to pitch every single day, which is remarkable,” manager John Schneider said of Varland. “He’s been about as dominant as you can be. He’s been phenomenal.”

The stats and the eye test support that assessment. The first-time all-star ranked first in ERA among all MLB pitchers to face at least 300 batters.

The more he pitched in the highest of leverage situations, the more Varland flourished. And, with that, a team that had it’s difficulties remaining competitive because of a punchless offence still felt it had a shot.

“Honestly, I can’t pinpoint the exact moment where I felt comfortable, but I did get comfortable in that role,” Varland said.

The stuff is the base of Varland’s effectiveness, of course, but so is that locked-in, psycho mindset that suits the elite closers.

“I treat it all the same,” Varland said. “If (the closer assignment) suits my personality, it’s a matter of opinion. It’s fun though, closing out the game and securing the win.”

Varland is one of eight pitchers (10 occurrences) in Jays history to register at least 35 saves in a season. It doesn’t take a deep statistical dive to surmise that if the Jays would have had a better offence, he would have been much closer to Duane Ward’s single-season club record of 45.

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“For one, you have to have the right mentality to pitch the ninth inning and he definitely has that and definitely has the stuff,” manager John Schneider said of Varland, whose first save came on April 21. “To hold his stuff and basically not budge whether it’s back to back outings or a couple of days off, he was in a really good groove in terms of preparing taking care of himself.”

All around, Varland has been a success story for the Jays, who was acquired from the Twins at the 2025 deadline for outfielder Alan Roden and pitching project Kendry Rojas — a steal, in other words. He has been the most reliable and durable arm on the team.

As the Jays look for off-season answers, Varland and his bullpen buds remain one of the few proven solutions.

“I’m glad they pitched us (as much as they did),” Varland said. “And hopefully again next year have that be the strong suit of the team again.”

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