Blue Jays trade Kevin Gausman to Cubs

Ken Rosenthal and Mitch Bannon of The Athletic were first to report the trade. Outfielder Brett Bateman and infielder Ty Southisene will go back to Toronto in the trade. Southisene was the Cubs’ No. 13 prospect while Bateman was No. 21, according to MLB Pipeline.

With the deal, the Blue Jays officially part ways with a beloved member of the organization whose success on the field and consistency behind the scenes made him an essential part of their recent success.

In four and a half seasons with the Blue Jays, Gausman combined durability with front-of-the-rotation stuff, making an All-Star team, earning Cy Young votes in two different seasons and posting a 3.79 ERA over the course of 40.1 post-season innings.

“Kev will go down as one of the best free agent signings the organization has made, especially from a pitching standpoint,” said manager John Schneider. “He’s remarkably consistent, professional, good teammate, low maintenance. Everything that you want from a frontline dude.”

As Schneider said, the Blue Jays have reason to be thrilled with the five-year, $110 million deal they signed with Gausman back in December of 2021. In 148 regular-season starts with the Blue Jays, Gausman posted a 3.62 ERA while pitching 861 innings on his way to 12.8 wins above replacement.

Not only did Gausman shine on the field, but he also embraced the Blue Jays fan base and was beloved in return, all of which made Saturday’s final home start at Rogers Centre more emotional.

“The fans have done a lot of cool moments for me since I’ve been here, but that was definitely up there,” Gausman said of the ovation fans gave him. “I’ve played this game long enough to know those things don’t happen all the time, so I tried to soak it in.”

The right-hander now ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders in strikeouts (seventh all-time, 920), starts (ninth, 148) and wins (12th, 53).

“He’s been everything,” George Springer said. “Consistent, and he wants the ball in a big game. But I think the thing that I’ll take from him is how much he cares about us and who he is as an individual, not just a baseball player.”

The 35-year-old said he’d ideally prefer not to be traded while adding that he understands the business side of the game.

Since Gausman has already received one qualifying offer, he’s ineligible for another one. Under those circumstances, no draft pick compensation was possible for the Blue Jays and their only way to get a return for Gausman was to trade him.

Once the deal becomes official, there will be a new opening in the Blue Jays’ rotation. The likes of Chad Dallas and CJ Van Eyk are among the candidates to take on more innings for the season’s final two months, but the Blue Jays also acquired veteran starter Jameson Taillon from the Cubs in a trade earlier on Sunday.

Southisene, 21, is a speedy shortstop playing in single-A this season. Bateman, 24, is a contact hitter playing at triple-A.