Blue Jays' Louis Varland: Kicking off bullpen day in Game 4
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Varland is slated to serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher Wednesday for Game 4 of the ALDS versus the Yankees, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The Blue Jays are expected to rely on their bullpen to get through Wednesday's contest, and the team will officially turn to Varland to collect the first several outs. The 27-year-old turned in a 4.94 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 23.2 frames in the regular season after joining Toronto at the trade deadline. He's pitched in each of the first three games of the series versus New York, yielding two earned runs on three hits while striking out three over 2.2 innings.
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Blue Jays' Louis Varland: Starting bullpen game
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Varland will start Thursday's game against the Red Sox, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
Varland has turned in a 5.66 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 20.2 innings since being traded to Toronto, and the Jays will now see how he fares in a new role. The 27-year-old righty began his career working primarily as a starter with the Twins, though he will likely only remain in Thursday's game for an inning or two before turning things over to the bullpen.
Varland struck out one in a perfect seventh inning during Friday's loss to the Royals.
He fired 12 of 14 pitches for strikes in his Toronto debut. Acquired at the trade deadline from the Twins, Varland entered the game with his new team down 5-1, but he should quickly slot into a high-leverage role for the Jays, joining Yariel Rodriguez, Seranthony Dominguez and Yimi Garcia (elbow) as right-handed setup options in front of closer Jeff Hoffman.
The Blue Jays acquired Varland and Ty France from the Twins on Thursday in exchange for Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
Varland has worked as a full-time reliever this season for the first time in his professional career, and he's transitioned to the role flawlessly with a 2.02 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 47:13 K:BB across 49 innings. The right-hander should be in the high-leverage mix for Toronto but isn't likely to be a consistent candidate for saves.
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Twins' Louis Varland: Continues success in bullpen
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Varland allowed a walk but no hits over a scoreless inning Friday against Kansas City. He has a 2.74 ERA and a 26:6 K:BB in 23 innings with eight holds this season.
Varland moved to the bullpen this spring and has become a key setup man for the Twins. He's on a streak of nine consecutive outings without allowing a run over 7.2 innings. The right-hander struggled last season as a starter in Triple-A with a 4.75 ERA, but he showed promise as a reliever in the majors in 2023 with a 1.50 ERA and a 17:1 K:BB in 12 innings.
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Twins' Louis Varland: Move to bullpen going well
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Varland allowed one walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning Thursday against the Royals.
Varland moved to the bullpen this spring, and the returns have been encouraging so far, as he has a 3.86 ERA and 10:3 K:BB in seven innings. He could be used in higher-leverage spots if he continues his early success. The right-hander struggled last season as a starter in Triple-A with a 4.75 ERA, but he showed promise as a reliever in the majors in 2023 with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and a 17:1 K:BB.
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Twins' Louis Varland: Likely to win bullpen role
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Varland is expected to make the Twins' major-league roster as a reliever, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports. He's thrown nine scoreless innings with a 5:2 K:BB ratio this spring.
Manager Rocco Baldelli hasn't confirmed the move to the bullpen in an attempt to keep his options open, but Varland hasn't been building up innings to work as a starter this spring. The right-hander struggled last season as a starter in Triple-A with a 4.75 ERA. As a reliever in the majors during 2023, he showed promise with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and a 17:1 K:BB. Varland could soon be in the high-leverage mix due to a fastball that can touch triple digits.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Likely to move to bullpen
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Varland is likely to work as a reliever this spring and try to win a spot in the bullpen, Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. "It's very possible that we see a good amount of him out of the bullpen this year," manager Rocco Baldelli said.
However, Baldelli did say the move to the bullpen wasn't certain. If Varland is kept as a starter, he'd likely begin the season in the minors. He struggled last season as a starter in Triple-A with a 4.75 ERA. As a reliever in 2023 in the majors, he showed promise with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and a 17:1 K:BB. If he claims a spot in the major-league bullpen, Varland could be in the high-leverage mix due to a fastball that can touch triple digits.
Varland is expected to be used in a traditional relief role down the stretch, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
It had previously seemed as though the Twins were considering a quasi six-man rotation with Varland included as a bulk reliever, but he pitched his way out of that conversation in a hurry. Varland gave up eight runs on five hits and a walk over 2.1 innings against the Rays on Wednesday, bringing his ERA to 7.62 through 39 innings with the major-league team this season.
Twins' Louie Varland: Disastrous outing as bulk reliever
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Varland (0-6) took the loss Wednesday, surrendering eight runs on five hits and a walk over 2.1 relief innings as the Twins were downed 9-4 by the Rays. He struck out one.
After Ronny Henriquez worked a scoreless inning as Minnesota's opener, Varland got the call and sailed through two perfect frames of his own before the wheels came off in the fourth. Some questionable defense contributed to the disaster, including the right-hander's own throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and a two-run homer by Yandy Diaz finally ended Varland's night. The Twins don't get a day off until Sept. 12, so they may continue rolling with a six-man rotation, but there's no guarantee Varland will be the sixth man after this performance left him with a 7.62 ERA and 1.69 WHIP for the season. If he does get another turn, either as a starter or bulk reliever, he lines up to take the mound at home early next week against the Angels.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Recalled, should work in bulk relief
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The Twins recalled Varland from Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
Ronny Henriquez will draw the starting assignment for the Twins in Wednesday's game at Tampa Bay, but he's expected to work an inning or two before giving way to Varland, who will likely be deployed in bulk relief, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A decent showing Wednesday could be enough for Varland to stick around with the Twins as part of a six-man rotation. The Twins have just two days off over the final 26 days of the regular season, so the addition of Varland would help provide extra rest for the team's other starters heading into the playoffs.
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Twins' Louie Varland: Could start Wednesday for big club
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Varland may be a candidate for a promotion from Triple-A St. Paul to fill the opening in the Twins rotation Wednesday at Tampa Bay, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
The Twins already have a five-man rotation in place, but manager Rocco Baldelli is presumably keen on building in an extra day of rest for the team's starters while Minnesota is in the midst of a stretch of 13 games in 13 days. While Varland should eventually settle into a bullpen role for Minnesota in September, the Twins' decision not to call him up Sunday when the active roster expanded to 28 men suggests he's being ticketed for a start Wednesday. Varland owns a 1.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 39:13 K:BB in 32.2 innings over his last six outings for St. Paul but has largely struggled during his time in the big leagues with a 4.91 ERA across 124.2 career innings.
Varland threw five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in a relief appearance Wednesday for Triple-A St. Paul. It was his first relief appearance in the minors this season.
Varland was an impact reliever late last season and into the playoffs for the Twins, but was moved back to the rotation this year. The Twins have said they're contemplating moving him to the bullpen for similar usage this season, so this outing could be the first step to using him in the majors as a reliever.
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