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Dylan Cease, Louis Varland named finalists for major awards

Two Toronto pitchers recognized for their outstanding seasons.
ByBen Wrixon
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Sep 12, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Louis Varland (77) delivers a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Sep 12, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Louis Varland (77) delivers a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Toronto Blue Jays endured a disappointing season in 2026, but two of their pitchers were among the league’s best despite the group’s overall struggles.

Those two pitchers were Dylan Cease and Louis Varland, who were just recently announced as finalists for the American League Cy Young Award and Reliever of the Year Award, respectively. They both put together some of the finest performances in recent club history in their respective roles. 

Will either of them win the hardware when the awards are announced on November 11th? That’s a bit more complicated, but one appears to have a better shot than the other. 

Let’s start with Cease. While a late-season shoulder injury ended his season on a sour note, it’s important not to forget just how fantastic he was for the bulk of the season. 

Over his 29 starts, Cease led the AL in FIP (2.56), K/9 (12.7), hits-per-nine (5.8), and home runs allowed per nine innings (0.6). He set a new career high with 239 strikeouts across his 169 excellent innings. He was an ace in every sense of the word. 

The problem is that fellow finalist Cam Schlittler was even better. He authored one of the best seasons in the storied history of the New York Yankees, managing a 1.95 ERA (215 ERA+) across 193.2 innings. No pitcher in the AL did a better job preventing runs from being scored, which is the ultimate responsibility of a starting pitcher. 

The award is Schlittler’s to lose. Cease will probably finish second in the voting ahead of the other finalist, Parker Messick, which is still a tremendous accomplishment.

Louis Varland's dominance in the Blue Jays' bullpen was almost unmatched in the American League

Louis Varland’s case to win AL Reliever of the Year is far stronger. He was, by and large, the most dominant pitcher coming out of any American League bullpen. 

Varland allowed just 11 earned runs across 78 innings pitched, which was good for a 1.27 ERA (348 ERA+). He allowed just two home runs all year while converting 35 of 37 save opportunities. There’s a legitimate argument to be made it was the best season by a reliever in the history of the Blue Jays. 

Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays and Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians were fantastic in their own right. They wound up tied for the AL lead in saves with 41, and both also recorded ERAs under 2.00. With all due respect, however, they just weren’t on the same level as Varland. 

Will he actually win the award, though? The Blue Jays not making the playoffs is probably going to work against him even though it’s a regular season award. The voters may favour Baker because he was on the best team in the American League. The counter-argument is that Varland was this good on a team that wasn’t good—it’s fair to wonder what their record would have been without him.

Regardless of what happens, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate just how special Cease and Varland were in 2026. Both were fantastic and gave Blue Jays fans something to cheer for during a frustrating season. 

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