Blue Jays’ bullpen trio has been unexpectedly elite this season

Many presumed the Toronto Blue Jays would live and die on the strength of their pitching in 2026, but few could have anticipated the back end of their bullpen would be this strong.

Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, and Trey Yesavage were expected to lead one of baseball’s best starting staffs. However, as the season has gone on, it’s been Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, and Spencer Miles who have proven themselves to be the trio to watch. 

Who could have seen this coming? Varland was a hard-throwing setup man last season. Rogers is a 35-year-old submarine pitcher. Spencer Miles was a Rule 5 Draft pick who entered the season with less than 15 professional innings under his belt. Yet together, they have become one of MLB’s most fearsome three-headed monsters. 

Does any team have a better bullpen trio than the Blue Jays? 

Varland’s dominance in 2026 cannot be overstated. He entered Tuesday with a 1.26 ERA and 0.96 WHIP across 64.1 innings pitched, ranking fifth in the league with 28 saves despite not even beginning the season as the Blue Jays’ closer. He has utterly transformed the bullpen since prying the ninth-inning job away from Jeff Hoffman. 

Rogers has been just as dominant with a microscopic 1.57 ERA. His superpower is suppressing hard contact; he ranks in the 100th percentile in barrel rate allowed. He has yet to allow a home run all year while generating ground balls an absurd 63.4% of the time. 

Miles, meanwhile, owns a 1.83 ERA in 64 innings pitched as a reliever. He has consistently overpowered hitters with a sinker in the mid-to-upper 90s. He’s solidified the bullpen with the poise of a veteran despite being a rookie. 

It’s effectively been game over for the other team when the Blue Jays have a lead in the seventh inning with all three of these guys available. Is there a better trio in baseball? 

The most obvious place to start is San Diego. The Padres have the indisputable best closer in Mason Miller—he might be the most unhittable pitcher in history from a pure stuff standpoint. His 0.88 ERA and 47.4% K-rate should only be possible in a video game. 

He’s not the only deadly weapon in the Padres bullpen, though. Adrian Morejon has quietly been one of baseball’s most dominant relievers for years now, generating ground balls over 60% of the time using a ridiculous 100-mph sinker from the left side. 

If that wasn’t enough, San Diego also has hard-throwing Jeremiah Estrada to pair with those two. He has missed some time this year, but has been his usual dominant self when healthy and a force out of their bullpen over the past few seasons. 

Still, even if the Blue Jays’ trio isn’t quite on the level of what San Diego has, their group is clearly the class of the American League. Just about every other team would love to have Varland, Rogers, and Miles in their pen right now. They're exactly the kind of arms Toronto is going to need to shorten games if it sneaks back into the postseason this fall.

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