Louis Varland is officially the first-ever winner of the AL Reliever of the Year award. He might also now own the best relief season in Toronto Blue Jays' history.

Varland picked up the Baseball Writer's Association of American (BBWAA) honor after a campaign that saw him save 35 games while recording a 1.27 ERA and striking out 97 batters in just 78 innings of work. The 28-year-old's All-Star season also saw him named to the All-MLB First Team.

While Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays was selected as the Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year (the MLB award), Varland earned a decisive selection as the writer's choice. He received 16 first-place votes and 146 total points to beat out Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith, with Baker finishing a distant third.

Varland's performance looms large in the context of the 2026 baseball season, but such a dominant campaign begs the question: where does it stand in Blue Jays' franchise history?

Varland's 2026 Campaign Stands As One of Toronto's Best of All-Time

Perhaps the best case to be made for Varland owning Toronto's best all-time relief season is his 1.27 ERA. His microscopic ERA, owing to allowing just 11 earned runs all year, stands as the clubs' lowest mark for any pitcher with 50-plus innings pitched.

While it's hard to compare relief efforts across different seasons, it's clear that Varland's 2026 is in rare company. While it doesn't stand head and shoulders above some historical predecessors, it is one of just a handful of truly great Blue Jays seasons out of the bullpen and brings to mind other elite year-long performances.

In the club's World Series-winning 1993 campaign, the late Duane Ward recorded 45 saves while boasting an ERA of 2.13. Ward was named an All-Star that year and even earned a top-five Cy Young finish (Varland did not earn any AL Cy Young votes) before posting a 1-0 record with four saves and a 3.86 ERA over eight postseason appearances.

In 1986, then-rookie side-armer Mark Eichhorn proved that great relief seasons weren't just for closers. While he did save 10 games, he notched a 14-6 record and a 1.72 ERA primarily in middle-relief. He did so while throwing an incredible 157 innings in 69 appearances. To put that in perspective, Houston's AJ Blubaugh led all relievers this year by throwing 96 innings over 64 appearances.

Meanwhile, B.J. Ryan is primarily remembered by Toronto fans for his burdensome five-year, $47 million contract, but he did have a 2006 campaign for the ages. In what was his first season with the organization, he recorded 38 saves with a 1.37 ERA, which at least gave the Blue Jays some bang for their buck in year one of the contract.

Perhaps conspicuous by his absence is legendary closer Tom Henke, but the franchise's all-time saves leader never had one standout season as part of a hugely successful eight-year run. He recorded as many as 34 saves, struck out as many as 128 batters and held ERA's as low as 1.92, but never all at once. His 1987 All-Star campaign (34 saves, 128 strikeouts, 2.49 ERA) was probably his best, but still likely shy of Varland's 2026 production.

There is no perfect answer to the question of the greatest relief season in Blue Jays' history. But Varland's 2026 campaign certainly ranks as one of the very few worthy of consideration.