The Louis Varland trade was the most shocking move the Twins made at the trade deadline, even more so than Carlos Correa heading back to his original team, the Houston Astros, to shed payroll.

Of course, Correa being moved was still unexpected, but if the deal was shown to Twins fans before the trade took place, most probably would have expected Derek Falvey and company to accept it.

However, Varland, who is under team control through the 2030 season, getting moved to the Blue Jays came entirely out of left field.

It seemed Varland, 27, was in prime position to be the Twins’ closer or setup man after Minnesota traded away Jhoan Duran, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe.

The Griffin Jax trade announcement came around the same time Varland was traded to Toronto, making the move even more puzzling for many Twins fans.

Varland has broken out as one of the more formidable bullpen arms in baseball this season, posting a 2.02 ERA with a 23.9 K%, 6.6 BB% and an average fastball velocity of 98.1 miles per hour.

Twins were “overwhelmed” by Blue Jays’ offer for Louis Varland

Minnesota didn’t want to trade Varland, but felt the offer from the Blue Jays was too good to turn down, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

In exchange for Varland and Ty France, the Twins received outfielder Alan Roden, who has four hits including one home run in his last 10 at-bats with Minnesota, and left-handed pitching prospect Kendry Rojas.

Twins fans should stop complaining about Louis Varland trade after prospect Kendry Rojas’s St. Paul Saints debut

Rojas, 22, had a great debut in the Twins’ minor-league system, hurling five scoreless innings with four strikeouts while allowing five hits and two walks against the Iowa Cubs on Thursday.

Losing Varland hurts, but Rojas, who had a 3.46 ERA (2.45 FIP) and 37.1 K% in Toronto’s system this season, has the potential to be a very good major league starting pitcher, which is way more valuable than a reliever. Rojas typically relies on a sinker/slider combo, per Twins Daily’s scouting report, and his fastball averages 94 miles per hour and can reach 96 miles per hour. To round out his pitch mix, Rojas can throw an 87-mile-per-hour changeup.

There is a plausible argument that trading away Varland was a bad move, considering he has already established himself at the major league level. However, it’s clear the return Minnesota received for Varland has the potential to create a lot more value than the Blue Jays’ new reliever.