- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,253,867
- Reaction score
- 59
The Chicago Cubs have added a veteran starter on the eve of the Trade Deadline.
Ken Rosenthal reported that the Cubs have acquired Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays. Chicago is sending back No. 13 overall prospect Ty Southisene and No. 21 overall prospect Brett Bateman back to Toronto in the deal.
Cubs Receive: Kevin Gausman
Blue Jays: Ty Southisene (No. 13), Brett Bateman (No. 21)
The Cubs have been in dire need of acquiring starting pitching at the trade deadline. Gausman is expected to be the first of a couple of pitcher moves that the North Siders make over the next 20 hours.
Gausman hasn’t had the best of seasons so far in 2026. The two-time All-Star has a 4.38 ERA, 1.288 WHIP, and 127 strikeouts in 127 ⅓ innings pitched. His struggles have been especially felt over the last few weeks, as the veteran has posted a 5.86 ERA across his past 11 starts dating back to the beginning of June.
The results haven’t necessarily been there for the 35-year-old this season, but his expected numbers look a lot better than his actual numbers. His expected ERA (3.96) is 42 points lower than his actual ERA (4.38), and both his FIP (3.51) and expected FIP (3.82) are both significantly lower than his ERA.
Gausman will immediately slot into one of the top-3 spots in the rotation, alongside Matthew Boyd and ***** Imanaga. He’s exactly the type of pitcher the Cubs need for the stretch run. He’s a veteran pitcher with plenty of postseason experience. The right-hander had a 2.93 ERA across 30 ⅔ innings in the Blue Jays’ playoff run last year, which included throwing six innings of three-run ball in Game 6 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cubs will only have Gausman for the rest of this season, as he will be a free agent at the end of the 2026 campaign. However, his arrival does help a rotation that has suffered some key losses to Cade Horton and Justin Steele this year.
Gausman will be a workhorse for this Cubs rotation down the stretch. He has thrown the second-most innings since the start of the 2021 season (1,053 innings). Only Logan Webb has thrown more innings over the last six years (1,087 ⅓ innings).
The two prospects that the Cubs are giving Toronto in return are lower-ranked in their farm system. Both Southisene and Bateman are having great years at the plate, but there are concerns about their power at this point in their careers.
Southisene is batting .306 with seven doubles, 35 RBI, and 31 stolen bases across 66 games at Single-A and High-A this season. Bateman has a .312 batting average with three home runs, 18 doubles, 33 RBI, and 20 stolen bases across 83 games at Triple-A.
Gausman is the first of what should be more pitcher moves. The Cubs are still reportedly in on Reid Detmers, Emerson Hancock, George Kirby, Clay Holmes, and Brady Singer.
Continue reading...
Ken Rosenthal reported that the Cubs have acquired Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays. Chicago is sending back No. 13 overall prospect Ty Southisene and No. 21 overall prospect Brett Bateman back to Toronto in the deal.
Cubs Receive: Kevin Gausman
Blue Jays: Ty Southisene (No. 13), Brett Bateman (No. 21)
The Cubs have been in dire need of acquiring starting pitching at the trade deadline. Gausman is expected to be the first of a couple of pitcher moves that the North Siders make over the next 20 hours.
Gausman hasn’t had the best of seasons so far in 2026. The two-time All-Star has a 4.38 ERA, 1.288 WHIP, and 127 strikeouts in 127 ⅓ innings pitched. His struggles have been especially felt over the last few weeks, as the veteran has posted a 5.86 ERA across his past 11 starts dating back to the beginning of June.
The results haven’t necessarily been there for the 35-year-old this season, but his expected numbers look a lot better than his actual numbers. His expected ERA (3.96) is 42 points lower than his actual ERA (4.38), and both his FIP (3.51) and expected FIP (3.82) are both significantly lower than his ERA.
Gausman will immediately slot into one of the top-3 spots in the rotation, alongside Matthew Boyd and ***** Imanaga. He’s exactly the type of pitcher the Cubs need for the stretch run. He’s a veteran pitcher with plenty of postseason experience. The right-hander had a 2.93 ERA across 30 ⅔ innings in the Blue Jays’ playoff run last year, which included throwing six innings of three-run ball in Game 6 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cubs will only have Gausman for the rest of this season, as he will be a free agent at the end of the 2026 campaign. However, his arrival does help a rotation that has suffered some key losses to Cade Horton and Justin Steele this year.
Gausman will be a workhorse for this Cubs rotation down the stretch. He has thrown the second-most innings since the start of the 2021 season (1,053 innings). Only Logan Webb has thrown more innings over the last six years (1,087 ⅓ innings).
The two prospects that the Cubs are giving Toronto in return are lower-ranked in their farm system. Both Southisene and Bateman are having great years at the plate, but there are concerns about their power at this point in their careers.
Southisene is batting .306 with seven doubles, 35 RBI, and 31 stolen bases across 66 games at Single-A and High-A this season. Bateman has a .312 batting average with three home runs, 18 doubles, 33 RBI, and 20 stolen bases across 83 games at Triple-A.
Gausman is the first of what should be more pitcher moves. The Cubs are still reportedly in on Reid Detmers, Emerson Hancock, George Kirby, Clay Holmes, and Brady Singer.
Continue reading...
