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The Blue Jays should consider extending Kevin Gausman past the 2026 season
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Ben Wrixon
Nov 28, 2025, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 27, 2025, 23:00 EST
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Kevin Gausman is entering the final season of his contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, and the front office should absolutely be trying to keep him around longer. 
Pitchers rarely live up to big-money contracts they sign in free agency, but Gausman’s five-year, $110-million deal has been worth every penny. He’s been one of baseball’s most reliable starting pitchers during that stretch and is showing no signs of slowing down. 
Gausman, who will be 35 in January, threw a career-high 193 innings during the 2025 regular season with a 3.59 ERA (119 ERA+) and 1.062 WHIP. His strikeout rate was up compared to the previous year, while his hits-per-nine allowed and walks were down. 
The right-hander also pitched the best postseason baseball of his career during the Blue Jays’ magical World Series run. He went at least five-and-two-thirds innings in each of his five starts while never allowing more than three runs. 
Gausman’s consistency is unmatched; there’s no reason to expect anything less than 31 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA from him again in 2026. His age won’t deter teams from trying to sign him if the Blue Jays allow him to hit free agency, which they shouldn’t. His fastball is still just as good as it’s always been. Gausman averaged 94.5 mph on the pitch in 2025; it sat at 94.6 mph in 2023 when he finished third in American League Cy Young voting. His signature splitter, meanwhile, still generated whiffs 38.6% of the time. 
Gausman’s strikeouts being down the last two years compared to 2022-2023 are more indicative of a league-wide adjustment rather than declining effectiveness. Teams have changed their approach against him, yet he’s adapted and found new ways to get the same results. 
Extending Gausman for another two or three years is a no-brainer for the Blue Jays, especially if they are pencilling him in as a middle-of-the-rotation arm behind Dylan Cease. He’s a model of consistency on the mound and a great ambassador for the franchise, and the Jays can still work in a contract that does not change next season’s salary (and impacting the current CBT) while keeping him around past 2026, joining the likes of Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios (if he opts in), and Cease moving forward. 
Gausman chose to be a Blue Jay — now it’s time for the team to choose him.

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