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Ex-Twins reliever has a chance to make history in the World Series
Oct 19, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland (77) pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the sixth inning during game six of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Ex-Twins reliever has a chance to make history in the World Series

Originally posted on Minnesota Twins on SI
By Will Ragatz  |  Last updated Oct 23, 2025 7:41 PM ET

Former Twins reliever and St. Paul native Louis Varland has become the go-to bullpen arm on a Blue Jays team that's four wins away from celebrating a championship. He has a chance to make history over the course of the World Series, which begins on Friday night in Toronto.

The Jays have played 11 games so far in these playoffs. Varland has pitched in 10 of them. The MLB record for pitching appearances in a single postseason is 14, set by Paul Assenmacher in 1997 and matched by Brandon Morrow in 2017. If Toronto's series against the LA Dodgers goes six or seven games, Varland will have a good chance to match or outright break that record.

Here's a look at Varland's game log in the 2025 playoffs:

  • ALDS Game 1 vs. NYY: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 K
  • ALDS Game 2 vs. NYY: 1.0 IP, 0 ER
  • ALDS Game 3 at NYY: 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 K
  • ALDS Game 4 at NYY: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 K
  • ALCS Game 1 vs. SEA: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 K
  • ALCS Game 2 vs. SEA: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 K
  • ALCS Game 4 at SEA: 1.0 IP, 0 ER
  • ALCS Game 5 at SEA: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 K
  • ALCS Game 6 vs. SEA: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 K
  • ALCS Game 7 vs. SEA: 1.1 IP, 1 ER

The only game in which he didn't pitch was Game 3 of the ALCS. His total numbers are 11.2 innings pitched, 10 hits allowed, one walk, four earned runs (all on solo home runs), and 14 strikeouts. He's thrown 190 pitches, with five different instances of pitching on back-to-back nights.

Varland has struggled with the home run ball a bit, but that's still a 3.09 ERA so far this postseason, down from the 4.94 mark he recorded after landing with the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. He's simply the most reliable arm that Toronto manager John Schneider has available in his bullpen right now, and because it's the playoffs, his name has been called time and time again in big spots.

During the Twins' stunning 10-player fire sale before this year's trade deadline, the move that sent Varland to the Blue Jays for outfielder Alan Roden and pitching prospect Kendry Rojas may have been the most shocking of them all. Varland was under cheap team control for years and years to come, and the former 15th-round pick out of Concordia (MN) was in the midst of a fantastic breakout season for Minnesota. That trade came in just minutes before the deadline and took his Twins teammates completely by surprise.

It wasn't about shedding salary. That deal was purely about the Twins' front office believing they got a strong return for a reliever whose value had never been higher. We'll see what happens with Roden and Rojas in the future, but the trade has certainly worked out for the Blue Jays thus far.

Now Varland is on the verge of winning a World Series — and perhaps making some MLB history in the process.

This article first appeared on Minnesota Twins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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