Right-hander Kevin Gausman has been open this month about his affinity for Toronto and the bittersweet concept of potentially being traded to a contender. He became choked up talking to reporters about the scenario earlier this month, detailing the conflicting emotions of falling in love with the city but also wanting another opportunity to contend for a ring. The right-hander told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet earlier today that he’s very open to an extension with the Jays, but those talks simply haven’t happened. Gausman acknowledged that whatever happens next is out of his control. He’s scheduled to start for the Jays tomorrow, at home, and plans to do so.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Gausman told Davidi. “When I think about myself, I think of myself as a Blue Jay. I don’t want to leave any of these guys. This group is really special. But I certainly understand the business. There’s a little bit in my control, but there’s also a lot that’s not.”
The “tiny bit” Gausman referenced there is an eight-team no-trade clause that reportedly allows him to block deals to the Reds, Tigers, Brewers, Pirates, A’s, White Sox, Mets and Mariners. Talks with any of the other 21 teams in the game are indeed out of his control. The Phillies scouted Gausman’s most recent start and have been frequently linked to him (and others) over the past week.
It’s been an up-and-down season for the veteran Gausman, who’s playing out the final season of a five-year, $110MM free agent deal that has gone tremendously for Toronto. He’s sitting on a 4.51 ERA that’s inflated by a particularly rough patch from mid-June through mid-July (25 runs in 28 2/3 innings), but he fired a quality start his last time out (three runs on five hits and a walk with six punchouts against a hot Red Sox club at Fenway Park).
More broadly, Gausman has been every bit as good as the Jays might’ve hoped when signing him. He started 31 or 32 games every year from 2022-25 and posted a combined 3.48 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. Gausman logged a quality 3.59 ERA in 32 starts last year and rattled off a 2.93 mark in 30 2/3 postseason frames as Toronto came practically as close as a team possibly can to winning the World Series without actually taking home the trophy.
A rough month in the middle of the season hasn’t done much to quell interest in Gausman, whose track record is as solid as they come. The 35-year-old should be an in-demand player on the market over the next 68 hours or so. Teams in need of rotation help that aren’t on Gausman’s no-trade list include the D-backs, Rangers, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers and Padres. And, of course, Gausman could also give the green light to approve a deal to any of the teams on his list. The Brewers and White Sox, in particular, are division leaders known to be seeking reinforcements in the rotation.
Gausman is earning $23MM this season before becoming a free agent at season’s end. He’s already received a qualifying offer in the past, so the Jays’ only path to get compensation for his departure is to trade him before Monday afternoon’s deadline. (Players can only receive a QO once in their career.) He’ll be owed $6.68MM through season’s end on the day of the trade deadline.
