DUNEDIN, Fla. — No need to speculate anymore. The Opening Day nod is officially Kevin Gausman’s.

Gausman will become the 29th player to start on Opening Day for the Toronto Blue Jays, an announcement made official by manager John Schneider on Saturday at the player development complex.

This will be the 35-year-old starter’s third career Opening Day start, and his first with the Blue Jays organization. Not only will he lead the charge during Game 1 of 162, but this will also line him up to start one of the games against the Los Angeles Dodgers from April 6-8 — adding extra fuel to an already thrilling World Series matchup next month.

Gausman might not be the loudest guy in the clubhouse, or even the most decorated pitcher on this staff. But there’s a certain trust factor he has with this coaching staff, knowing he’ll be able to handle the delayed start time for opening ceremonies and the highly anticipated banner celebrations, as well as the added excitement of a new season being born.

Gausman is entering the final season of his five-year, $110 million contract with the franchise, signed in free agency during the 2021-22 off-season. While this will be the first time he’s started on Opening Day in Toronto, he previously received this prestigious honour with the Baltimore Orioles in 2017 and again in ’21 with the San Francisco Giants.

The 6-foot-2 hurler is the perfect choice to begin the Blue Jays’ quest to defend their AL crown, as he’s coming off another remarkable performance, courtesy of his 3.59 ERA and 3.41 FIP in 32 starts from a season ago, paired with his 17.9 per cent strikeout-minus-walk rate. It also marked the longest campaign of his career, even without accounting for pitching into the World Series, as evidenced by his career-high 193 innings pitched from the regular season.

It’ll be the first time someone other than José Berríos (three out of the previous four), Alek Manoah (2023) or Hyun Jin Ryu (2020-21) has taken the ball on Opening Day for the Blue Jays since the ’19 season.

With Gausman set to become a free agent next winter and undecided about his future beyond this season, there’s a chance this could be his only opportunity to serve as the organization’s Opening Day starter before potentially moving on. That’ll add an extra bit of flair to his first outing of ’26.

The stakes will be incredibly high when the curtain rises on Mar. 27 at Rogers Centre, and considering the 12-2 thumping that Toronto’s pitching staff endured last year to the Baltimore Orioles — which saw B.C. native Tyler O’Neill extend his MLB-best home run streak to six straight Opening Day games — having Gausman set the tone versus the Athletics will be crucial this time around.

And after all he’s endured with this franchise, they know he’s prepared for this moment.