Kevin Gausman said Friday he does not want to leave Toronto, even as the possibility of a Kevin Gausman trade hangs over the Blue Jays before Monday afternoon’s deadline. The right-hander told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet that he is open to an extension, but those talks have not happened.
Gausman put it plainly. “I don’t want to go anywhere,” he said, adding that he thinks of himself as a Blue Jay and does not want to leave the group around him. The comments arrived with the deadline only hours away and with Toronto still deciding whether to cash in now or keep a starter who has been one of its most important arms.
The urgency is obvious because Gausman is in the final season of his five-year, $110MM free agent deal and is earning $23MM this year. If the Blue Jays do not move him by Monday afternoon, their only route to get compensation for his departure disappears. By the trade deadline, he will be owed $6.68MM for the rest of the season, a figure that makes him far more affordable for a contender looking for rotation help.
That helps explain why interest has already formed around him. The Phillies scouted Gausman’s most recent start, and he just gave Toronto a quality outing against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts. It was a needed bounce-back after he gave up 25 runs in 28 2/3 innings from mid-June through mid-July, a rough stretch that pushed his ERA to 4.51.
Gausman’s case is not just about one month, though. From 2022-25, he started 31 or 32 games every year and posted a combined 3.48 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate, then followed with a 3.59 ERA in 32 starts last year. He also pitched a 2.93 ERA in 30 2/3 postseason innings as Toronto came close to winning the World Series, which is why his name has stayed central even as the deadline nears.
The snag is that Gausman can control only part of the picture. He has an eight-team no-trade clause and can block deals to the Reds, Tigers, Brewers, Pirates, A’s, White Sox, Mets and Mariners, which narrows the list of possible landing spots. He said there is “a little bit” in his control and “a lot” that is not, a fitting summary for a pitcher who wants to stay but may still be moved if Toronto decides the return is worth it.
For now, the next marker is simple: Gausman is scheduled to start for the Jays at home, and the deadline follows soon after. If Toronto acts, it will do so with a pitcher who has said he wants to remain where he is. If it does not, the Blue Jays will have to live with the possibility that one of their most durable starters finishes the year elsewhere without bringing them anything back in return.
