Kevin Gausman’s rough outing for the Toronto Blue Jays hasn’t changed what an MLB.com insider framed as a near-inevitability: the AL East club is unlikely to trade him before the deadline.
Kevin Gausman didn’t have to wait long for his latest reminder that the season hasn’t gone smoothly in Toronto.
In his most recent start against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, the Blue Jays’ ace-like piece was tagged for seven earned runs. He finished with three strikeouts, allowed four walks, and gave up seven hits.
But for all the frustration that a line like that can bring—especially when it lands right before the trade deadline—the next news cycle has pointed in a different direction: the chances of the Blue Jays moving Kevin Gausman appear slim.
MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan laid out the logic for why teams chasing upgrades are likely to look elsewhere. He focused on the rental market and the way the American League playoff picture looks this year. describing it as “bunched together” in the standings. In his view, there are “several factors” working against clubs that want a clear needle-mover.
Harrigan’s key point was rooted in timing and proximity. He wrote that the standings are extremely bunched together, and there’s “little indication that is going to change over the next few weeks.”
Then he zoomed in on the Blue Jays. As Harrigan put it. Toronto—despite being “the reigning AL champions” with a “disappointing season”—remain “firmly in the AL Wild Card picture.” He added that even if they keep “tread[ing] water. ” it’s unlikely they’ll fall far enough in the standings to become sellers.
That matters for a pitcher like Gausman because, in practical terms, a trade tends to follow a team admitting it’s no longer in the race. Harrigan’s argument is that Toronto hasn’t done that—at least not yet.
Gausman’s season numbers help explain why he’s viewed as movable talent in the first place. So far in 16 games with the Blue Jays, he has posted a 4.04 ERA, struck out 89 batters, and is 4-5.
Still, the broader situation in the division and conference is what Harrigan says is tilting the outcome. The Blue Jays are 37-39 overall and are third in the AL East.
With Toronto set to face the Cubs this weekend. the contrast is stark: Gausman is coming off the kind of start fans don’t forget. while the wider trade-deadline narrative—at least as Harrigan frames it—suggests Toronto’s plans aren’t about to collapse. It leaves the central question hanging the way deadline baseball always does: will the Blue Jays keep believing they can stay competitive and hold onto pending free agent Kevin Gausman. or will the deadline force a different decision later?.
For now, Harrigan’s conclusion is clear. He wrote that it’s unlikely Toronto drops far enough to trade a pending free agent like Gausman. even with a disappointing season to match the frustration that’s been building for a team coming off the sting of being one game away from beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in their run that ended one step short of the World Series.
Kevin Gausman Toronto Blue Jays Chicago Cubs MLB trade deadline American League wild card AL East standings Thomas Harrigan