 Villanueva spent a short part of the season as the closer while Trevor Hoffman recovered on the disabled list; however, after poor performances, the role was given to Todd Coffey instead.On December 3, 2010, Villanueva was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later (cash).After starting the season in the bullpen for the Blue Jays, he was moved to a position in the starting rotation to fill in for open spots previously filled by Brett Cecil and Jesse Litsch.