Louis Varland posts 0.56 ERA in Blue Jays closer role
louis varland has taken over the Toronto Blue Jays’ closer role and is running a 0.56 ERA early in the 2026 season. He has saved three of the club’s last four wins, giving Toronto the late-inning answer it spent last July trying to buy and develop at the same time.
That start looks even sharper next to the price Toronto paid. The Blue Jays traded Alan Roden and Kendrys Rojas for Varland last July, and Rojas ranked fifth on the club’s MLB Pipeline top prospect list at the time. John Schneider then pushed him deep into Toronto’s World Series run, asking him to make more appearances than any reliever ever in a single postseason.
Varland and Schneider
Varland’s role has changed from postseason weapon to everyday closer. The 28-year-old is handling the highest-leverage outs now, and the results have matched the job: three saves in four wins, a 0.56 ERA and 1.0 fWAR early in 2026.
His value is not limited to the run prevention. Varland’s 1.0 fWAR ranks 15th among all pitchers, including starters, and only Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres matches that reliever value in the article’s ranking context. For Toronto, that means the closer spot is being filled by a pitcher producing like one of the most valuable arms in the league, not just one of the best late-inning options.
Changeup Usage Rises
The fastball has not changed much. Varland’s 2026 velocity is 98.2 m.p.h., up only from 98.1 m.p.h. in 2025, and he has not added any new pitches to his repertoire. The bigger shift has come in how he uses the changeup.
His changeup usage has climbed from 4.7 per cent in 2025 to 10.8 per cent in 2026, and he already has more strikeouts with the pitch this year than he had on it all of last season. The pitch showed up in a tight spot on Saturday, when he threw it seven times in his last 13 pitches with the bases loaded and one out, producing five strikes, two whiffs and a strikeout.
Toronto’s Investment
Toronto’s bet on Varland was made before the first pitch of this season. The club had strong internal support for him before 2026 began, and the early results are better than a short hot stretch he put together in 2025, when he posted a 0.56 ERA over 15 games in late June and early July. This version has carried farther, with a 1.45 xERA that ranks third among 378 qualified pitchers.
For Toronto, the practical read is simple: the bullpen has a closer who is converting saves, missing bats and getting outs without leaning on a new pitch mix or a velocity jump. That gives Schneider a late-inning plan built around Varland’s current form, and it makes the cost of the July trade look justified every time he walks in from the bullpen.
