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Inside The Blue Jays

Two Rising Stars Show Blue Jays Won 2025 MLB Trade Deadline

It is somewhat hard to fathom that their teams were willing to let them go, but their loss has been the Blue Jays gain.
Maddy Dickens|
May 22, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland (77) and catcher Brandon Valenzuela (59) celebrate after a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Rogers Centre.
May 22, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland (77) and catcher Brandon Valenzuela (59) celebrate after a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

If there is any organization that won the 2025 trade deadline, it has to be the Toronto Blue Jays, as they were able to secure some very valuable members of their team: closer Louis Varland and catcher Brandon Valenzuela

Varland, alongside first baseman Ty France, was acquired at the cost of taking prospects out of the Blue Jays' pipeline and giving them to the Cleveland Guardians. But Toronto was ready to win then, and now, so they were willing to give up a piece of their future, which was clearly the right call.

Valenzuela, on the other hand, was the prospect that the San Diego Padres gave up so that they could have Will Wagner, who is hitting .225 on the year with no homers and seven RBI, and one doesn't have to pay too much attention to know that Valenzuela is performing a whole lot better than that.

Whether it is Varland coming out of the bullpen, or Valenzuela behind the plate, there is rarely a doubt, if ever, that these two are going to come up short for their team, making this easily one of the best all-around deadlines Toronto has ever had.

Valenzuela and Varland This Season

Brandon Valenzuela gets water dumped on him in a blue Blue Jays jersey
Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela (59) is doused in ice water as the Blue Jays celebrate a win over the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The phrase "blessing in disguise" is always hard to hear, but who knows when rookie Valenzuela would have had the opportunity that he is having right now had Alejandro Kirk not been hurt two months ago. But he got his shot, and he is running with it.

Maybe it took a minute to build his confidence at the plate, but in the last month, he (alongside Ernie Clement) is the best bat this team has to offer, and he is simply getting better.

*Note* These rankings are amongst his teammates in the past 15 days who have played at least 10 games

  • 3 Home Runs- tied for 1st
  • 4 Doubles- tied for 1st
  • 6 Drawn Walks- tied for 1st
  • 6 RBI- 4th
  • .314 Batting Average- tied for 3rd
  • .386 On-Base Percentage- 3rd
  • .686 Slugging Percentage- 1st, only player above .571
  • 1.091 OPS- 1st, only player above 1.000

Varland, however, started hot right out of the gate and never slowed down, which is why he was named the AL Reliever of the Month and was arguably robbed of the award in May, since the only earned run etched by his name this year was the month prior.

Thinking about where the Jays' season would be right now had they not acquired both Varland and Valenzuela at last year's deadline is something of a nightmare. It is hard to even comprehend that teams would let either of these two go, but thankfully, here they are.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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