If Saturday was goodbye, at least Kevin Gausman got to feel exactly how much this city loves him first.
With a runner on third and two outs in the sixth inning of what was likely his final start as a Blue Jay, Gausman handed the ball to John Schneider and walked off to a standing ovation from 41,819 fans at Rogers Centre.
Before disappearing into the dugout, he clapped his glove against his bare hand, then tapped his heart toward the crowd.
"Just appreciation for receiving that kind of love," Gausman said. "I've played this game enough, those things don't happen all the time, so just kind of tried to soak it in. I had to go down in the tunnel after to kind of regroup myself. But what a cool moment, for sure."
The emotion made sense given the timing. Gausman remains a leading candidate to be moved before Monday's 6 p.m. trade deadline, and he's made clear repeatedly that leaving isn't what he wants.
"We don't want him to go anywhere, and I know he doesn't want to go anywhere," Schneider said before the game. "Unfortunately that's not how baseball works sometimes."
Why Saturday's performance made the moment even harder
Gausman looked like his old self, holding St. Louis to one run over 5.2 innings, his best outing in over a month, and picked up his first win since May 22.
It also snapped a stretch of eight straight starts without a win for Toronto, even though he'd allowed three runs or fewer in four of them.
"It's been way too long," Gausman said about finally seeing his name in the win column. "Months, you know, so it's not great. But hopefully we start a winning streak here."
That win pushed Toronto to four victories in five games, a stretch Gausman likely won't be around to see continue if he's dealt in the next 48 hours.
Signed to a five-year, $110 million deal before 2022, Gausman has been arguably the best free-agent pitcher this franchise has ever added, posting 53 wins, an All-Star nod, a third-place Cy Young finish and a 0.992 WHIP across eight postseason appearances.
His eyes welled up discussing the people, not just the numbers, watching Schneider grow as a manager and teammates grow as players, husbands and fathers.
George Springer remembered Gausman's relief appearance in Game 7 of last year's ALCS, the outing that set up Springer's own pennant-winning homer.
"It's funny whenever you see a starter going over into the pen to get loose and that just shows who he is," Springer said. "He wanted to play, he wanted the ball. That's who he is and I love him."
"The best decision I've ever made is to come here," Gausman said of signing in Toronto.
Over the next two days, everyone finds out if he gets to stay.
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