Blue Jays Risk Wearing out Louis Varland Before All-Star Break

The Toronto Blue Jays took a risk with Louis Varland on Saturday. They used him for the second time in as many days.

Unlike Friday, it didn’t work.

Varland gave up two runs on two hits in the ninth inning of a tie game as the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1, at Rogers Centre. The day before, Varland recorded a save with a perfect ninth inning.

In a 162-game season, occasional hiccups are expected. Varland is 3-2 on the season. He’s been perfect in save situations (12-for-12) but in he’ll lose one here and there. His ERA remained under 1.00 at 0.96, even with the two earned runs.

But the Blue Jays must be careful not to wear the right-hander out. There are subtle signs that indicate wear and tear could be a factor.

Assessing Louis Varland After 34 Games

Go-Ahead Goldy 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7fhWCAmgVM
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 13, 2026

Yes, Varland has seen action in 34 of the Blue Jays’ first 71 games. Math majors need not apply. That’s essentially half of Toronto’s games. He’s been brilliant. But June is starting to look a bit different. This wasn’t the first time he’s given up an earned run this month.

Earlier this week, Varland allowed an earned run against Philadelphia. He ended up taking the win. But that run, combined with what happened on Saturday, puts him in uncharted territory in the context of this season. Varland hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a single month.

March? He gave up two earned runs in three appearances.

April? He gave up one earned run in 12 appearances.

May? He gave up no earned runs in 13 games.

In June he’s pitched in six games and allowed three earned runs. That’s sent his ERA for the month into the stratosphere at 4.05. In March and May he did not have an ERA.

Varland has been about as good as any reliever in baseball. He was the American League’s reliever of the month for March and April. He could have claimed the award again in May. Now that he’s into June, is this just an aberration or a trend? Three earned runs in less than a week, given his season to this point, is somewhat gasp-worthy.

The workload is due to injuries and due to Jeff Hoffman losing the closer’s role. Varland has been leaned on like never before in his career — not in appearances, but in high-leverage moments. The Blue Jays must be careful that they’re not leaning too hard into him before the All-Star break, lest he be worn out and grow less effective. Toronto should see Saturday as a warning bell.

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