The Milwaukee Brewers demonstrated the power of having an elite bullpen on the way to their first World Series title in franchise history.

The Toronto Blue Jays already have a strong and talented bullpen anchored by closer Louis Varland.

Yesterday, however, another closer surprisingly declined his player option and could help Toronto's bullpen as a setup man.

Francys Romero of Beisbol/FR reported yesterday that Emilio Pagan declined his 1-year, $10M player option to become a free agent in hopes of landing a multi-year deal.

Sources: Emilio Pagán declined the Cincinnati Reds’ $10 million option for the 2027 season and will become a free agent, with a strong chance of landing a multi-year contract.

Pagán had a notable second half of the season, going 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA, 29 SO in 26.1 IP and 18 SV.

— Francys Romero (@FrancysRomero) October 31, 2026

This is certainly a gamble on Pagan's part, as he is 35 and turns 36 in May.

Toronto, though, should consider adding Pagan. Over the past two seasons, he ranks eighth in MLB with a combined 57 saves, just three fewer than Mason Miller and more than Josh Hader.

The Blue Jays already have a closer, but they could add him as a right-handed setup man to join Tyler Rogers.

Pagan finished 5-1 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a 45:11 K-to-BB ratio in 42 innings.

He was especially good after returning from a hamstring injury, going 19-for-19 in save opportunities with a 1.88 ERA.

To be abundantly clear, Pagan is no Varland, but his numbers the past two years are not nearly as different from Varland's as you would guess.

Pagan has been particularly good away from Great American Ballpark (aka Smallpark), a hitters paradise. On the road across 2025-2026, his ERA (2.03) and WHIP (.86) are far better than his home marks of 3.88 and 1.04.

John Schneider cycles through his top bullpen arms like a teenager on Instagram Reels. Mason Fluharty (1st), Braydon Fisher (8th), and Tyler Rogers (9th) are all ranked in the Top 10 in baseball in appearances.

Varland was 22nd, and Jeff Hoffman, who spent 2/3 of the season with Toronto, was 18th.

Like Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro) in Meet the Parents, John Schneider has a small Circle of Trust. Ross Atkins needs to give him some more options whose stats will pass the lie detector test.

Keeping the Ball in the Park

Pagan is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, ranking in the 3rd percentile in ground-ball rate in 2025, and he would have ranked in the 1st percentile with enough batted balls to qualify in 2026.

He allowed a 10.1% barrel rate this season and will need strong outfield defense behind him, making Brett Bateman or another strong center fielder even more important for Toronto if they sign Pagan.

Still, Pagan ranks among the top five free-agent relievers, according to Pitcher List, which ranks Padres setup man Adrian Morejon as its top free-agent reliever and 10th best overall, followed by Bryan Abreu (27th), Evan Phillips (39th), Raisel Iglesias (40th) and Pagan (41st).

Morejon is the clear top option If Toronto cannot land him, though, Pagan would still help and has more closing experience if Varland gets hurt.

His age, extreme fly-ball tendencies that lead to home runs (1.5 HR/9 in 2026 and for his career), and time spent on the injured list in both 2024 and 2026 are all risks to consider with Pagan.

Pagan is also one of baseball's more extreme fastball pitchers, throwing his high-spin four-seamer 63% of the time, a cutter 20%, and a splitter 18%.

Still, Toronto could use another leverage arm in the bullpen.

Let's just hope you don't need a breaking ball or a changeup to make it into the Circle of Trust.