He topped out at 97.5 mph today. Varland hasn’t been officially moved to the bullpen, but his only chance of making the Twins is as a reliever. He’d still probably start if assigned to Triple-A, but especially now that Michael Tonkin appears bound for the IL, Varland has a good shot of claiming a spot.

Varland relieved Wednesday, but that was as a planned bulk guy. This should be more of a traditional middle-inning role for the right-hander. The Twins also made this move last September, and while Varland wasn’t thrilled about it, he had a great final month in the majors, allowing two runs with a 17/1 K/BB ratio in 12 innings. Varland is 0-6 with a 7.62 ERA in seven starts and two relief appearances for the Twins this season.

There was some optimism for Varland coming into this outing given his recent success at Triple-A St. Paul, but things unraveled quickly in this one. He gave up five hits, incluidng a two-run homer to veteran slugger Yandy Díaz and wound up being tagged for a season-high eight runs. He’ll likely be utilized in a long relief role moving forward for Minnesota as they enter the home stretch of the year and it’s difficult to recommend him as a fantasy option moving forward.

Varland is expected to be the bulk guy behind Ronny Henriquez tonight against the Rays. He gave the Twins a quality start in his previous appearance on Aug 14, but he lost to the Royals anyway, leaving him 0-5 with a 6.14 ERA in the majors this season.