The Yankees went looking for pitching help before the deadline, and Kevin Gausman was apparently part of the conversation. That alone is enough to make Blue Jays fans wince. But the way things played out may have handed Toronto the better end of the deal.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, New York “even talked to the Toronto Blue Jays about right-handed starter Kevin Gausman” while trying to fill multiple holes. Rosenthal also reported the Yankees chased impact relievers and might have blocked Adley Rutschman from landing with the Red Sox if they had been willing to offer a package heavy on major-league talent. In the end, though, they came away empty on the biggest names, missing out on both Rutschman and Gausman.
What they did land was a pair of offensive additions in Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos. Rosenthal noted that a thin bullpen market and a depleted farm system limited what New York could realistically do. For the Blue Jays, that probably counted as a relief all by itself.
Toronto had already dealt Gausman to the Cubs, and keeping him out of the American League East mattered. The Yankees are still chasing October, and the Blue Jays didn’t need to help a division rival get stronger. Even with Gausman struggling in Chicago - a 5.14 ERA through his first five starts - the idea of him in pinstripes was enough to make the move feel risky from Toronto’s side.
At first, the return from Chicago didn’t look like much. Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene were not the kind of names that light up a fan base when a veteran starter goes out the door.
Gausman had been one of the better pitchers in baseball during his time in Toronto, and Southisene was viewed as a mid-level Cubs prospect while Bateman sat further down Chicago’s top-30 list. It was fair to wonder whether the Blue Jays had sold low.
Bateman has changed that conversation, at least for now. In a small sample, he has given Toronto exactly the kind of player it has been missing: contact, energy and speed.
Over his first 20 games with the Blue Jays, he has hit .317 with a .367 on-base percentage and a .757 OPS. He has 26 hits in 82 at-bats, 10 runs, seven RBIs and three stolen bases, plus a 2.9 defensive fWAR that has sharpened the outfield defense.
The offense has looked more alive with him around. Toronto has posted a .333 team on-base percentage and a .271 batting average since Bateman arrived, a clear step up after carrying a league-worst 91 wRC+ through the first 116 games. Since he joined the roster, the Blue Jays have put up a 110 wRC+.
The Yankees may have had names to discuss with Toronto, but it’s fair to wonder whether they had anyone who could have filled Bateman’s kind of role this quickly. Their better Triple-A options were mostly pitchers, while one of their more interesting outfield prospects, Jace Avina, spent the year at Double-A. Avina has had a solid season, hitting .254/.350/.477 with 20 home runs and 15 stolen bases over 108 games, but that is not the same immediate fit Bateman has become for the Blue Jays.
Southisene’s numbers are solid too. The 21-year-old middle infielder has played 77 minor league games this season and hit .300/.419/.380 with 90 hits and 34 stolen bases.
Maybe New York could have put together a stronger offer. Maybe Toronto could have pulled a different mix of prospects from the Yankees. But there was a bigger price attached to that path: helping a division rival, putting Gausman directly into the AL playoff chase and watching a former rotation anchor bolster a team Toronto eliminated from playoff contention just one year earlier.
Instead, Gausman went to Chicago, the Yankees came up short and the Blue Jays may have found a quick-impact piece in Bateman.
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