The Toronto Blue Jays are currently facing some hard conversations, and tough decisions regarding two of their most beloved players.
Kevin Gausman has been the perennial ace of the Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff over the past five seasons. George Springer, whom the Jays had acquired one year before Gausman via free agency, has padded his resume for potential Cooperstown consideration someday.
Both have contributed some memorable postseason heroics with the Jays, and have further solidified their place among the preeminent, clutch performers of their time.
They’re awesome MLB veterans, and their tenure as leaders of a Blue Jays team that ultimately rose to the top echelon of the sport might result in their place among the level of excellence in the Rogers Centre someday.
Each a former multiple-time All-Star, Gausman, and Springer are now approaching what might be a final crossroad with the Jays.
Disappointing Exit for the Blue Jays’ #1 Starter
With his contract set to expire, Gausman is grinding through every last inning of his five-year, $110-million-dollar contract. His team though, at least in the sense of production in virtually every offensive statistical category, has failed him in 2026.
He has pitched well, as one might expect of a pitcher with Gausman’s incredible ability to control the strike zone with a high-nineties fastball and a vicious splitter that has the bottom drop out at the last second.
The two pitches, in effect, make up Gausman’s entire arsenal, and when on, which both usually are, they leave hitters guessing and baffled. Yet 2026 appears as somewhat of an anomaly on the list of Gausman’s stats over the past five or six years.
The innings and the K’s are there, but the wins, the ERA, and now, the fire in his trademark competitive spirit seem to be slightly fading.
Can one blame him?
Blue Jays’ Bats Have Let Kevin Gausman Down In 2026
The Jays are dead last in MLB in runs scored. Yet he continues to take the ball every fifth day, having logged an impressive 21 starts so far in 2026.
Like every gamer, Gausman wants to compete, and the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays are just not a competitive team, looking to contend for a playoff spot.
Even in an American League that has offered every opportunity for a jump in the standings, over and above a continuously underperforming cast of teams.
They had their chances, but time after time, a quality start was wasted with little to no run support. After this past shellacking from the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, the Jays would be wise to move Gausman soon, as in before his next start, so that he can be placed in an environment where he can easily assimilate, compete, and thrive.
The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon has Gausman hypothetically being traded to the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have steadily rebounded after a disappointing start to the season, and are now firmly holding onto a National League wildcard spot.
One of the proposed prospects in the package for offering Gausman is said to be outfielder Brett Bateman, who is a decent contact hitter but is severely lacking in the power department, having hit just six home runs in over 300 minor league games.
Is this the best the Jays can get for Gausman?
In an optimum scenario, the Jays might acquire two or three prospects, and then court Gausman for a second act in Toronto by signing him again in the offseason. He still has a legacy to continue as an elite MLB starting pitcher, and with some offseason additions, perhaps he might entertain the idea of returning to the Jays for the remainder of his career.
