The Blue Jays’ most trusted reliever this year may come as a total surprise

Without question Louis Varland has been leading the Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen all season. Varland has been having a career year, locking down tons of important games for Toronto every time he goes out there.

However, it may come as quite the surprise that the Blue Jays’ most relied upon reliever hasn’t been their electric closer. In fact, it isn’t even the durable veteran Tyler Rogers, who led the league in appearances in 2025 with 81. That distinguished honour actually goes to none other than Mason Fluharty this year.

Entering Monday, Fluharty has been the most called-upon reliever in all of MLB, having made 75 relief appearances for the Blue Jays in 2026. The 25-year-old has been doing a great job thus far, posting a tidy 6-1 record with a 3.32 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, giving up just 46 hits with 62 strikeouts with a 25.7% strikeout rate in just 57 total innings of work.

Those numbers have been solid, but Blue Jays' manager John Schnieder obviously sees more than that when deciding to go to Fluharty this season.

Mason Fluharty has been a game changer for the Blue Jays this season

One of his strongest attributes this year had been his dominance over left-handed hitters. This season, Fluharty has limited lefties to a minuscule .155 batting average, .434 OPS, two home runs with 35 strikeouts in 116 total at-bats. With veteran Brendon Little struggling earlier in the year, along with the extended absence of Joe Mantiply on the injured list, Toronto had no choice but to lean upon Fluharty as their main lefty specialist out of the bullpen. And he really stepped up his game to help the Blue Jays secure many victories this season.

More significantly, Fluharty has also excelled in whatever role Schneider handed him beyond just being a lefty specialist on any game day. He has also served as an opener four times for the Blue Jays this season, while registering 15 holds in addition to one save. As Varland once quoted during the Blue Jays’ 2025 postseason run, “He’s (Fluharty) nasty. He doesn’t throw that hard, but it works.”

Fluharty may not be your typical flamethrower out of the bullpen, but he has certainly been getting the job done for Schneider and the Blue Jays no matter what the circumstances. As a result, he will no doubt be a vital part of Toronto’s push for the playoffs down the stretch as they look to lock down a wild card spot in the coming weeks.

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