Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Kevin Gausman is pitching like John Schneider's ace, but Toronto's ugly start is dragging him into trade talk anyway.
That is where this gets uncomfortable for the Blue Jays. Gausman has done his job, yet the club's 8-13 record has opened the door to deadline questions far earlier than anyone in Toronto wanted.
ESPN recently put out a report that if everything goes wrong for the Blue Jays this season, there most likely trade candidate would be Gausman.
If-all-goes-wrong candidate No. 6: Kevin Gausman (FA). It seems unlikely, but factor in all the injuries and some of the surprising performances in 2025, and it's not out of the question that the Jays just have one of those down years -- similar to 2024. If that's the case, Gausman could be the biggest target at the deadline.
The short-term baseball case is easy to see. Gausman has a 2.54 ERA over 35 innings, plus 35 strikeouts and a 0.953 WHIP, which is exactly what a contending club wants at the top of a rotation.
He has also been steady start to start. Sporting News noted he has allowed 3 runs or fewer in each of his 5 outings, giving Toronto a chance every time he takes the ball.
That is what makes the trade chatter sting. This is not a veteran getting moved because his stuff is gone. It is a frontline arm getting dragged into rumors because the team around him has not played clean enough baseball.
And the timing is not random. Gausman is in the final season of the 5-year, $110,000,000 deal he signed with Toronto, which means the Blue Jays are staring at a real decision if they keep falling behind.
Toronto could sell high, but it would hurt
That is the tension in this whole idea. A contender would line up for Gausman because proven starters with his consistency do not hit the market often in July. That is an inference based on his 2026 numbers and the trade-candidate framing.
From Toronto's side, the logic would be simple and cold. If the Blue Jays do not believe they can chase October, moving a pending free agent for multiple pieces could be smarter than letting him walk for nothing. That is the case Sporting News laid out.
But it would still be a hard sell in that clubhouse. Gausman has been the rock of this staff for years, and dealing him would be a loud signal that 2026 is no longer about pushing forward. That last point is an inference based on his role and the deadline context.
It also would put more weight on the rest of the rotation right away. Toronto can talk about retooling for 2027, but subtracting the one starter who keeps giving the club clean chances to win is the kind of move players feel fast.
So this update matters because it says something bigger than Gausman's name in a rumor mill. The Blue Jays are playing poorly enough that even their ace is starting to look like a deadline chip instead of a long-term pillar.
And unless Toronto starts climbing soon, Kevin Gausman trade talk is only going to get louder from here.
Also read on Blue Jays Insider :
The real reason behind Jeff Hoffman’s struggles is finally clear
The real reason behind Jeff Hoffman’s struggles is finally clear