Blue Jays Could Shockingly Trade Fan Favorite Veteran Pitcher at Deadline

Would the Toronto Blue Jays actually do it?

Toronto Blue Jays logo | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays enter the 2026 season now well into spring training with the hope that they can get back to the World Series this year and this time finish the job.

Coming off a solid -- albeit at times disappointing -- offseason in which they have put themselves in a spot to go for it again in the American League, Toronto on paper should be a tough team to handle all season long.

Unfortunately, however, this game is not played on paper, and every team must prepare itself for the worst while hoping for the best. There is a world -- and it would likely mean a ton of injuries and poor luck while struggling to replace Bo Bichette on offense -- where the Blue Jays struggle during the first half of the season.

Could those struggles be so significant however that they would entertain the thought of trading longtime fan favorite veteran pitcher Kevin Gausman coming off his strongest year with the team ahead of him hitting free agency this winter?

Blue Jays Would Have to Consider Trading Gausman

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

It goes without saying that if Gausman is having another strong year and Toronto is in a position to contend for another championship, the idea of trading him should be completely off the table, barring an absurd offer that is too good to pass up.

With that being said though, there is a gloomy world where the Blue Jays struggle to recapture the magic from 2025 and are going to have to enter a re-tooling period in order to get back to truly pushing for a World Series.

Due to his age, it's unlikely Gausman would be in that next phase of Toronto's plans anyway, so in this world, trading him would make the most sense if his value was a decent return from a contending team.

Gausman Has Had Tremendous Blue Jays Career

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Having turned 35 years old this winter, Gausman's arc with Toronto has been a marvel to watch since he arrived ahead of the 2022 season on a five-year deal worth $110 million. In 2025, it was a 3.59 ERA, 1.062 WHIP and 3.8 bWAR which helped carry the Blue Jays rotation, not to mention some postseason heroics as well.

With that all being said, he is not getting any younger and though it would sting to see him in another uniform while Toronto still had control of his contract, trading him and getting a decent prospect package back in return could make a lot of sense by the time this summer rolls around.

Of course, the hope is that this is all irrelevant and the Blue Jays wind up pushing to get back to the Fall Classic and stake their claim as the best team in the AL early. If things don't come to fruition that way though, Toronto had better prepare itself for the possibility of some tough calls being made at the deadline.

Trading Gausman would likely be at the top of that list.