Blue Jays banking on Louis Varland bringing power to bullpen - Sunday slip up aside

National Post

2 days ago

If there is a wildcard in the Blue Jays aspirations for the remaining two months of the season, it would seem as though it has nothing to do with regressing to that form of playoff qualification.
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No, the wildcard of interest at this point for the first-place team may be an under-the-radar trade deadline acquisition.
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As much as the marquee from a Toronto perspective was the deal with Cleveland that brought potential ace starter Shane Bieber here, a somewhat unheralded reliever from the Twins may be critical to the team's big October ambitions.
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Louis Varland, a hard-throwing 27-year-old righty, was acquired to be an influential (and much-needed) arm for the back end of a bullpen in need of some more shutdown sizzle.
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The upside is in his stuff, his attitude and his velocity.
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The downside is in the precarious world of being a big-league reliever, a reality Varland endured in Sunday's demoralizing loss to the Royals.
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After recording two outs on just four pitches in his eighth-inning appearance, Varland allowed back-to-back hits enabling the visitors to tie the game on the way to a 7-4 extra-innings win that continued the Jays recent wobbles.
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That blip aside, the Jays believe they have an arm that can thrive in high-leverage situations, a big reason he was a focus of Toronto general manager Ross Atkins at last week's deadline.
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'He's all business,' manager John Schneider said of his first impressions of Varland, who came here along with Ty France in a deal that sent Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas back to the Twin Cities. 'I love his demeanour. In conversation with him and with (pitching coach Pete Walker) and he's ready for anything.
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'There's no surprises. Velo. Curveball. And he's a really good athlete too. But I like his demeanour on the mound.'
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There were some flashes of that potential in Varland's initial appearance the day after the trade. Coming in during a blowout at the hands of the Royals (and unlike Sunday's stumble), Varland retired all three hitters and did so with confidence and apparent ease.
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That attacking mindset is what originally attracted Atkins to Varland, a pitcher the GM says has been on his radar for a couple of years.
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'We were very aggressive in trying to acquire him,' Atkins said on trade deadline day. 'He has been very effective this year as a reliever. Has as good a fastball as you can find and as good of a curveball as you can find. He's extremely aggressive. He's coming after you and that's attractive to us. (He) immediately impacts our bullpen in a significant way.'
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It's clear that the Jays wanted — and needed — some back-of-the-bullpen power to team up with closer Jeff Hoffman and ideally the return to health and efficiency of Yimi Garcia.
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Based on his first full season in that role, Varland seems like he could be suited to the assignment. He certainly relishes the opportunity and employs a mound presence to match.
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'First off, it's easier to get three outs rather than 15 to 21 outs (as a starter),' Varland said of his transition from starter to reliever. 'I changed some mechanical stuff to be more deceptive, so I think that's helped me get more outs.
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'I handle (the late-game pressure) pretty well. At first I thought I'd get nervous, but I'm pretty calm out there, collected. Basically just throw your best pitches and stick to the game plan and things should normally work out.
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'I would say I'm a pitcher who goes right after hitters. It's not like I'm nitpicking certain areas, especially my fastball. I like the challenge of it.'
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The hope from a Jays perspective is that Varland will be a potent fit late in games. Like many bullpens around the majors, the Toronto unit has been hard used to this point. And, looking forward, bullpens need to be high-octane heavy come playoff time.
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Varland said that in his initial conversations with Schneider and Walker, his new team has made it clear they are counting on the Saint Paul, Minn., native to be a key component.
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'They want me here,' Varland said. 'They want to use me (in important) situations. We've got a really good team and the team just got better (at the deadline).