Kevin Gausman could be the biggest target at the trade deadline

Although things have been looking up a bit over the past few days, the Toronto Blue Jays are having a very rough start to the 2026 season, both in terms of injuries and on-field performance.

Admittedly, there's still plenty of time to turn things around and regain last year's momentum, but the Blue Jays certainly wouldn't be the first team to reach the World Series one year and crash and burn the next.

And if that were to happen this season, the Jays could find themselves on the selling side by the trade deadline, and a few names are likely to surface at that point—including Daulton Varsho, given that his contract expires at the end of the season.

But he's not the biggest name in town. In fact, ESPN's David Schoenfield has named a candidate for each team ahead of the trade deadline should things go south, and for the Jays, the name that came out of the hat is Kevin Gausman.

It seems unlikely, but considering all the injuries and some surprising performances in 2025, it's not out of the question that the Jays might simply have had one of those tough years similar to 2024. If that's the case, Gausman could be the biggest target at the deadline.

Given that Gausman is considering retirement after this season—and that even if he were to return, he'd become a free agent—the Jays need to part ways with him if Toronto is shifting its focus toward 2027. Losing him for absolutely nothing would be incredibly foolish.

ESPN lists Kevin Gausman as a trade candidate if everything goes wrong for the Jays.

– Are you trading Gausman in that scenario?
– What are you after in a potential deal? https://t.co/YzKnLNEYjL pic.twitter.com/4IJM2VVZuc

— SleeperBlueJays (@SleeperBlueJays) April 20, 2026

A rental pitcher will never bring in the moon, but Gausman is the kind of ace pitcher that a team in the playoff race would be absolutely willing to pay dearly to get their hands on, including a high-quality prospect.

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