The Toronto Blue Jays have signed starting pitcher Kevin Gausman to a 5 year deal worth $110 million. Toronto is one of multiple teams that were interested in signing the right hander.
The nine-year veteran was named to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career last season. Gausman established himself as the Giants ace early in the season and had his best season last year. Now he will head back to the AL East where he began his career with Baltimore in 2013.
The Giants signed Gausman to a one-year, $9 million contract before the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020. He posted a 3.62 ERA with 79 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 59 ⅔ innings pitched. After accepting the qualifying offer from San Francisco, the righty returned and posted a 14-6 with a 2.81 ERA, 1.04 whip, and 227 strikeouts in 192 innings. These were all career-best numbers for Gausman.
Early in his career, Gausman was a reliable back-end starter compiling a 4.22 ERA in 146 innings. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Cincinnati Reds from 2014-2019. In two seasons with the Giants, he transitioned into a solid front-line starter.
Gausman will help fill the hole left by Steven Matz, who left the Blue Jays for the St. Louis Cardinals. Matz signed a four-year $44 million deal with the Cardinals earlier this offseason. Gausman features a four-seam fastball and a devastating split-finger pitch. When his split-finger is working, the nine year veteran is amongst the hardest to hit in baseball.
With Gausman gone, the Giants will need to find another arm to eat up innings in their rotation. They currently have Logan Webb, who stepped up in the second half of the season and was by far the Giants’ best pitcher. Additionally, San Francisco brought back pitchers Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani, but they still need more arms to fill out the pitching staff.
By signing Gausman, the Blue Jays are hoping an improved pitching staff will help them get to the next level. With reigning Cy Young award winner Robbie Ray still mulling offers on the open market, the Blue Jays haven’t sat by idly. Infact, they’ve made some of the richest signings in franchise history over the last two seasons with deals like Springer, Berrios, and now Gausman. Toronto already has a dangerous lineup, even with the loss of Marcus Semien who elected to pad his bank account with the Rangers. But if their pitching can be better, the Blue Jays could truly make a run at the division title.
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83