Louis Varland wins AL Reliever of the Year in tight race over Bryan Baker, Cade Smith
· Yahoo Sports
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland won the AL Reliever of the Year Award over fellow finalists Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays and Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians.
MLB announced Varland as the winner on Wednesday. He won in a tight race in which all three finalists received first-place votes.
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Varland led the way with 16 out of 30 first-place votes and 146 points. Smith finished second in voting with seven first-place votes and 133 points, while Baker tallied six first-place votes and 111 points. Josh Hader of the Houston Astros secured the final first-place vote.
Varland secured the award on the heels of a career season on the mound as Toronto’s closer. He finished the campaign with a 1.27 ERA and 1.000 WHIP with 97 strikeouts and 23 walks. His 35 saves were tied for the fifth-most in baseball.
They were also the first of his career. In four prior seasons mostly spent with the Minnesota Twins, Varland split his time between starts and middle relief.
He began his career as a starter with 15 starts across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He started to transition to the bullpen in 2024 and was a full-time reliever by 2025.
The move to the bullpen proved to be an immediate fit as he posted a career-low 2.97 ERA across 72 2/3 innings with the Twins and the Blue Jays. Varland has posted ERAs of 7.61 and 4.63 in his previous two seasons.
The Blue Jays recognized his potential and handed him the closer role for 2026 in a move that paid off with Varland winning AL Reliever of the Year.