As Twins' bullpen struggles, thriving Louis Varland makes homecoming with Blue Jays

MINNEAPOLIS — Louis Varland departed the Minnesota Twins as a developing reliever in a controversial trade to the Toronto Blue Jays last July. Now, he returns to his hometown as a budding star at a time his former team could really use him.Describing it as “just another series,” Varland returned to Minneapolis on Thursday as the Blue Jays started a four-game series with a 7-1 loss to the Twins, who are slumping partly because their reconfigured bullpen is short on hard-throwing relievers.Advertisement