Kevin Gausman’s time with the Chicago Cubs feels unfulfilled, as the veteran didn’t quite deliver the impact the front office hoped for. He brought some stability to the starting rotation, but his overall numbers were average at best, and by the end of the year, Gausman fell victim to an awkward injury that left him feeling less than 100% heading into the postseason. Now, as the Cubs swift through their long list of pending free agents, a decision on how aggressive the team will be in retaining Gausman will be made, but it kind of sounds like the pitcher’s next team is already decided.
It won’t be a new team, as word from up north points to a reunion for Gausman with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Mitch Bannon, the Blue Jays beat reporter for The Athletic, surveyed Toronto’s free-agent options following the 2026 season, and while listing players who stuck around after this year’s trade deadline who could return next season, Gausman’s name also surfaced.
Via The Athletic.
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There’s also Kevin Gausman, who was traded by the Jays at the deadline and will enter free agency after the postseason. Like Springer and Scherzer, it’s unclear if Gausman’s playing days are over. If he returns, a reunion with Toronto seems likely.
“Seems likely” carries some weight coming from the Blue Jays reporter, and it makes sense considering how much Gausman loved his time in Toronto.
The 35-year-old signed a five-year, $110 million contract before the 2022 season, and since then, he has enjoyed the best run of his MLB career. The right-handed pitcher was in the running for the 2023 American League Cy Young Award, and he pitched in three postseasons, including Toronto’s 2025 World Series run that ended in a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gausman posted a 2.93 ERA in 30.2 innings during the 2025 playoffs with the Blue Jays.
A day before he was traded to the Cubs, MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson wrote about Gausman’s final moments with the Blue Jays this season, and once again, you can tell how much the pitcher loves Toronto.
Via MLB.com.
Walking off the field Saturday, a standing ovation around him, Gausman’s eyes scanned another sold-out crowd and he patted his right hand over his heart. He loves this city. This city loves him. By the time he’d walked down the dugout steps, Gausman had to walk down the tunnel for a moment, just to collect himself.
Gausman was careful not to speak in the past tense after the Blue Jays’ 5-1 win over the Cardinals, but these are difficult days. The Blue Jays, still on the outside edge of the AL Wild Card race, feel like sellers ahead of Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. Gausman has met with the Blue Jays front office, and while he appreciated those talks, he wouldn’t say much more. What he did want to talk about, though, is what this city has meant to him, just in case it’s the last time we hear from him.
“This has been the best decision I ever made,” Gausman said, “to come here.”
Things can change, motivations or new challenges may arise for Gausman, but from the list of free agent pitchers that the Cubs may let go, Gausman may already be out of the mix, considering his perfect fit to go back to the Blue Jays in 2027.
In nine starts with the Cubs, Gausman was 4-2 with a 4.83 ERA in 50.1 innings. His results were better at Wrigley Field, posting a 4.23 ERA with a 29.6% K rate in five games, compared to a 5.56 ERA and 24.2% K rate in four road games. Unfortunately, the Cubs lost Gausman’s final three regular-season starts, and in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres, Gausman took the loss after gutting out 3.1 innings in a 4-1 defeat that eliminated the Cubs from the postseason.
