Blue Jays trade Kevin Gausman as deadline sell-off begins

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A weekend that began as a Toronto love-in for veteran Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman ended with the former all-star being dealt from the most impactful home of his 14-year big league career.

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Widely considered to be on the trading block for the struggling former American League champions, Gausman was traded to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night, a swap that was confirmed by the team shortly before midnight.

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And so begins the predicted sell-off for the Jays, who fell 5-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals earlier in the day, and remain in last place in the American League East, a disappointing season that few saw coming.

Gausman, who is ending a five-year deal with the Jays, was dealt to the Cubs for infielder Ty Southisene and outfielder Brett Bateman, the No. 13- and No. 21- ranked prospects for the National League club, per MLB Pipeline.

Signed on a five-year, $110-million deal that at the time was the richest free-agent contract in franchise history, Gausman was a huge part of the Jays team that came within a win of a World Series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers last fall.

Big-name Jays on the block

The Jays are expected to be sellers in advance of Monday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline with a number of players on expiring contracts possible to be dealt.

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Among those is fellow starter Shane Bieber, veteran outfielder/DH George Springer and outfielder Daulton Varsho.

Gausman has been one of the most popular Jays players during his time in Toronto, a tenure in which his wife and two young daughters embraced the city and the country.

After taking two of three in a weekend series against the Cardinals, the Jays travelled to Houston to begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros on Monday. Gausman won’t have to wait long to catch up with his former teammates as the Jays play the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Thursday.

And how’s this for drama: Depending on how quickly he acclimatizes to his new team, Gausman’s next scheduled start would be on Thursday.

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Family ‘really loved it’ in Toronto

It has been an emotional few weeks for Gausman, who clearly saw the writing on the wall that his tenure with the team was coming to an end.

During that time, he spoke openly about his love of Toronto and what playing in the city and country meant to his wife Taylor and young daughters Sadie and Sutton. Gausman clearly embraced his time here, buying a home in the city and immersing himself in the community.

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He was a force on the field, as well, holding down a front-of-the-rotation spot with the Jays throughout his five seasons here. As a Blue Jay, he has been an all-star, earned Cy Young Award votes and was the opening day starter in his final season with the Jays.

“They love it here, they really do,” Gausman said in an interview with the Toronto Sun earlier this year, speaking of his family’s affinity for summers in the city. “I mean, this is all my youngest daughter knows.

“We’ve really loved it. We love the parks. We’ve loved how pretty the city is in summertime and how nice the people are. We really love our house and neighbourhood. We’ve enjoyed every minute.

“My wife and I talk about it all the time. How lucky we were that we made the right decision.”

Sell-off speculated for weeks

As with any free-agent decision in baseball, however, it came with the cost connected to the business side of the sport. With a 52-60 record that has them in the basement of their division, the Jays are in the midst of a brutally disappointing first-to-last season that few saw coming.

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The prospect of general manager Ross Atkins being a trade deadline seller has been growing for weeks now with Gausman expected to be at the head of that class.

The late-Sunday swap, first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Mitch Bannon, sends the 35-year-old Colorado native to a Cubs team that tops the NL wild card race. With a 63-49 record, the North Siders are clearly loading up for a post-season run and jumped at the chance to get Gausman a day before the deadline.

As for the players the Jays are getting in return, the 24-year-old Batemen is an eighth-round pick from 2023 currently playing for triple-A Iowa, while Southisene, 21, was taken in the fourth round of the 2024 draft and was most recently in the lower levels of the Cubs’ farm system.

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