Kevin Gausman trade rumors quiet down as Blue Jays stay stuck in the middle

Kevin Gausman just gave up seven runs to the Chicago Cubs on Friday. It was ugly. Three strikeouts, four walks, seven hits allowed. The kind of start that usually gets fans talking about a trade deadline sell-off. But unless the Blue Jays go into a full collapse over the next few weeks, don’t expect Gausman to go anywhere.

MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan broke down why Toronto is an unlikely seller right now. The logic is pretty simple: The American League is a mess. The standings are so bunched together that even a disappointing team like the Blue Jays — 37-39, third in the AL East — is still in the wild card picture. “The reigning AL champions have had a disappointing season but are firmly in the AL Wild Card picture anyway,” Harrigan wrote. “Even if they continue to tread water, it’s unlikely that they are going to drop down far enough to trade pending free agent Kevin Gausman.”

The AL standings are doing Toronto a favor

Here’s the thing about this season. Nobody in the American League is running away with anything. The Blue Jays aren’t good, but they’re not bad enough to justify waving a white flag either. A few bad weeks and they could slide. But a few good weeks? They’re right back in it. That makes it really hard for a front office to sell off a guy like Gausman, even if he’s a pending free agent who just got lit up.

Gausman’s numbers this season aren’t terrible. A 4.04 ERA, 89 strikeouts across 16 starts. Not ace material, but dependable enough that a contender might want him. The problem is, the Blue Jays aren’t sure they want to be the ones trading him away.

What comes next for Toronto

There’s real disappointment in Toronto. This is a team that came within one game of beating the Dodgers in the World Series last year. Now they’re sitting at .500 and wondering what happened. But the front office has to decide if this roster can turn it around or if they’re better off retooling.

For now, the odds lean toward standing pat. The AL is too weak to quit on, even for a team that looks this average. Gausman’s Friday start against the Cubs might have been a nightmare, but it’s not enough to force a fire sale. The Blue Jays will probably ride this out and see if they can sneak into October.