Ernie Clement had a genuine moment of panic thinking he might have to face Kevin Gausman as an opponent already.
Clement initially believed the Toronto Blue Jays would be facing their recently traded former teammate tomorrow, calling the timing "too soon" for that kind of reunion.
"I don't want to face the guy that we just traded, like one of our boys," Clement said. "That's terrible."
That's a genuine, unguarded reaction from a player who spent years in the same clubhouse as Gausman, now finding the idea of standing in against him almost too strange to process this quickly.
Clement is hitting .288 this season across 110 games, one of Toronto's most consistent bats even during a difficult year overall.
Once told that Gausman had actually been pushed back in the rotation, Clement's relief was immediate and unmistakable.
"Oh, thank God," Clement said, exhaling. "That would have been horrible. That's why I was like, it's too soon. It will be great to see him. I'm just glad we're not facing him. That's hilarious."
Why this reaction says plenty about the bond in that clubhouse
Facing a former teammate competitively happens constantly in baseball, but the emotional whiplash Clement described speaks to how close this particular group actually was.
Gausman's trade to the Cubs came with real emotion attached, from his standing ovation in his final Toronto start to his wife's heartfelt goodbye message just days later.
It's a bit like accidentally almost running into an old close friend in an awkward, unprepared setting, only to realize you actually have more time before that moment has to happen.
Does this kind of genuine reaction from Clement reveal something real about the strength of Toronto's clubhouse culture, or is this simply a normal, human response any player might have toward a recently departed close friend?
Whenever Toronto and Gausman do eventually meet on the field, it sounds like it'll be a moment with real feeling attached, just apparently not quite yet.
Do you think facing a recently traded teammate like Gausman would feel strange for Blue Jays players?
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