The Blue Jays are walking a tightrope heading into 2025, with their season potentially swinging between contention and collapse.
Toronto’s front office faces a pivotal year with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. entering his final season before free agency. Their mission is clear: make the playoffs and boost their chances of keeping their franchise cornerstone. Miss the postseason, and the organization might need to pivot dramatically.
It’s a tall order for a team that finished last in the loaded AL East in 2024. The Blue Jays already started selling at last year’s trade deadline, and if they’re struggling again by July, they could launch an even more significant teardown.
But it might not be Guerrero who gets moved first.
On a recent episode of the Just Baseball Show, host Peter Appel predicted Kevin Gausman could be the Blue Jays star most likely to be traded mid-season.
“The Blue Jays have to be looking at the roster this season, and let’s say they struggle,” Appel said. “Vladdy is going to be a free agent, Bichette’s going to be a free agent. If Gausman has a good first half, he’s going to be a guy that everybody is asking about at the deadline.”
Gausman, 34, is coming off a relatively disappointing season by his standards. The two-time All-Star posted a 3.83 ERA with just 0.9 rWAR across 181 innings. That’s a noticeable drop from his previous performances in Toronto.
What makes Gausman particularly valuable as a trade chip is his contract situation. He’s entering the fourth year of his five-year, $110 million deal, meaning any team trading for him would get a season and a half of control. For contenders desperate for rotation help, that’s significantly more appealing than a two-month rental.
At his best, Gausman has been one of the AL’s most reliable workhorses and strikeout artists. If he rebounds in early 2025, contenders will likely line up with compelling offers.
The way things are shaping up, trading Gausman could be Toronto’s best path forward if they’re out of contention by July. It’s not the scenario Blue Jays fans want to imagine, but it might be the reality they’re facing if things don’t turn around quickly in 2025.
