It's the end of an era for Kevin Gausman and the Toronto Blue Jays, and his wife Taylor made sure fans knew exactly what these five years have meant to their family.
Gausman was traded to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, an emotional move that came just a day after his final start in Toronto ended with a standing ovation at Rogers Centre.
Taylor took to social media Monday with a heartfelt message thanking the organization and its fans.
"How do I even begin to sum up these last five years?" Taylor wrote. "It seems as though we just got here but have always been here at the same time. There aren't words to express how grateful we feel to have spent the last 5 seasons as Blue Jays. Our babies have truly grown up in Toronto."
She continued, reflecting on the decision that brought them to Toronto in the first place.
"Choosing Toronto really was the best decision we could have ever made," Taylor wrote. "Thank you to all of the Blue Jays staff for making it so easy to come to the field and feel at home; thank you to the fans for showing so much love not only to Kevin but to our whole family."
Why the family had already begun saying goodbye
The trade didn't catch the Gausmans off guard. The writing had been on the wall for weeks, and the family reportedly took one last day trip around the city last week to say goodbye to the home they'd built over five seasons.
Gausman signed with Toronto in the winter of 2022, and both he and Taylor have echoed the same sentiment, that choosing the Blue Jays was among the best decisions of their lives.
He's set to hit free agency this offseason, leaving open at least a small possibility of a return down the road, though Toronto's rotation has grown crowded following the additions of Jose Soriano and Spencer Arrighetti.
Taylor left the door open in her closing words.
"Goodbye just seems too hard," she wrote, "so for now it's see you later."
The trade deadline is always difficult for players and families, but watching Gausman leave so soon after last year's World Series run makes this particular goodbye sting a little more for Toronto.
Would you welcome Kevin Gausman back to the Blue Jays if he became a free agent this winter?
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