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The Toronto Blue Jays‘ season has gone from bad to worse. The team dropped another lopsided decision on Monday to the Tampa Bay Rays. They have now dropped five of their last six games to fall 5.5 games back of a Wild Card spot in the American League, with another five teams to leapfrog first.
The Jays rank 30th, dead-last, in baseball in runs scored through 100 games, 28th in OPS, and 26th in slugging pct. They rank 27th in OPS with Runners in Scoring Position (RISP). About the only thing they can hang their hat on is a bullpen that ranks 4th in baseball in saves. Unfortunately, there haven’t been too many opportunities of late, with only three saves in the entire month of July.
A sell-off at the trade deadline in less than two weeks is looking more and more like a certainty. With that, two-time All-Star Kevin Gausman, despite a bit of a down season this year, will be a prime trade candidate, as he is on an expiring contract and will be a free agent at season’s end. Add that to the fact that the defending American League champions now have the 4th-worst record in the league, and insider Jeff Passan writes that, “short of a Red Sox-like run, Toronto will have to entertain unloading Gausman.
“Gausman would be a tantalizing get for any of the various playoff contenders that want a ready-made October starter.”
7 contenders in the mix for Kevin Gausman at trade deadline
He then goes on to name seven teams that would be the best fits for Gausman:
- Chicago White Sox
- Atlanta Braves
- Minnesota Twins
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Chicago Cubs
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Baltimore Orioles
The White Sox are clearly in the market for a “ready-made October starter”, as their inexperienced rotation is their one glaring weakness for a team surprisingly en route to a shocking playoff berth. Gausman has made 14 postseason appearances in his career, eight of them starts, with a 3.83 ERA.
The Braves and Cubs have had all sorts of injury problems in their rotations this season, and adding a Gausman would be a big move heading down the stretch.
Brewers are a top fit for Kevin Gausman after losing Woodruff for the season
The Milwaukee Brewers have lost Brandron Woodruff for the season, but the Blue Jays’ veteran starter would be a nice replacement. With Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison already providing an excellent one-two punch, and rookie Logan Henderson continuing to provide excellent starts, Gausman would nicely round-out an strong rotation for the playoffs.
The Orioles find themselves only two losses better than the Blue Jays in the standings, but they’ve been playing much better ball of late than Toronto, and at 3.0 games back of a WC spot, they could badly use an experienced hand in their rotation like Gausman going down the stretch.
Another AL East rival, the Rays, are very familiar with what Gausman can do, and would give them some added firepower to an already-solid starter’s mix.
The one surprising team on this list is the Minnesota Twins. Usually sellers at the deadline, the Twins are in the same spot as the Orioles at 3.0 back. Could they actually turn the tables and be a buyer this time around?
Gausman has had an excellent run in Toronto the past five years over the course of his $110 million contract. Passan notes that he’s been “the fourth-best pitcher in baseball in that span, posting 20.1 WAR so far, easily beating his contract in value delivered to the Jays.”
Now, perhaps he can bring some prospect capital back to the Jays as a parting gift on his way out.
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