Kevin Gausman's first start at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs ended early Tuesday, and not on his terms.
In the fourth inning, announcers noticed something off. Gausman's left hand appeared to be cramping.
He pulled off his glove, and it was clear he couldn't fully extend the thumb on his non-throwing hand.
Cubs manager and pitching coach came out to check on him, offering energy gel to try to get him through the inning.
It didn't work. In the fifth, the same hand started twitching again, and Gausman was pulled for good.
"I've had it happen, but usually it's when I'm up over 100 pitches," Gausman told reporters afterward. "I've never had it happen this early in an outing."
The severity hasn't been reported yet, which leaves Chicago in a holding pattern with a pitcher it just acquired to bolster a playoff rotation.
Meanwhile, the trade keeps paying off in Toronto
The Blue Jays sent Gausman to Chicago at the deadline for prospects Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene.
Bateman has made an immediate impact. In 10 games with Toronto, he's hitting .283 and has taken over the leadoff spot in the lineup.
The Blue Jays have won eight of those 10 games with him in the order, right as Toronto pushes for a wild-card spot.
Gausman spent years anchoring Toronto's rotation before this trade closed that chapter.
Now one side of the deal is dealing with a scary cramp scare, and the other side has a rookie sparking a winning streak atop the order.
Whether Gausman's hand issue is minor or something that lingers into his next start is still an open question for Chicago.
For Toronto, Bateman's early returns are exactly the kind of development that makes a trade look lopsided fast.
Are the Blue Jays already winning the Kevin Gausman trade with Brett Bateman?
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