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Blue Jays 2026 40-man Roster Review: Kevin Gausman had a strong end to his 2025 season
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Photo credit: © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 8, 2026, 18:15 ESTUpdated: Jan 8, 2026, 18:41 EST
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Kevin Gausman started slow, but had a strong second half.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at Kazuma Okamoto. In this article, we’ll look at Kevin Gausman.
Shortly before the brief lockout during the 2021/22 off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays and Gausman agreed to a five-year deal worth $110 million, just the second time they handed out a nine-figure contract.
In that span, Gausman has consistently been the best pitcher on the team, maybe aside from Alek Manoah’s 2022 season. In 2022, Gausman had a 3.35 ERA and 2.38 FIP in 174.2 innings pitched. He followed it up with a 3.16 ERA and 2.97 FIP in 185 innings pitched, finishing as an American League Cy Young finalist. It was the fourth consecutive season the Jays had a finalist.
Gausman was a high-strike out type of pitcher at that point in his career, posting a 28.3 K% in 2022 and a 31.1 K% in 2023. His worst season as a Blue Jay was in 2024, posting a 3.83 ERA and a 3.77 FIP in 181 innings pitched, as his K% plummeted to 21.4%. Gausman had a better season in 2025, authoring a 3.59 ERA and 3.41 FIP in 193 innings pitched, but his K% didn’t recover, sitting at 24.4%.
The right-handed pitcher’s 3.59 ERA is impressive considering how poorly the season started for him. Over his first 15 games, Gausman had a 4.60 ERA and 3.90 FIP in 86 innings pitched, having given up seven earned runs on his Jun. 19 start against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Gausman turned it around from there, though, as he had a 2.78 ERA and 3.02 FIP in his final 107 innings pitched. It all started with eight shutout innings on Jun. 26, around the same time where the season began to feel special. Gausman also started that magical Canadian Day game, most known for George Springer’s grand slam.
The 35-year-old’s second half would’ve been even better if not for his two final games where he gave up eight earned runs over nine and one-third innings. Gausman’s magnum opus this season was a home game against the Houston Astros in mid-September. Over nine scoreless innings, he allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out nine. He threw exactly 100 pitches in this game, meaning he was one away from pitching a Maddux.
As you can imagine, Gausman had a strong postseason as well, being named their Game 1 starter in the American League Divisional Series. Over 30.2 innings pitched, he posted a 2.93 ERA and 4.21 FIP, with a 22 K% and 9.3 BB%.
With the veteran entering the final year of his deal and the Blue Jays signing Dylan Cease, Gausman may no longer be the ace of the team. Still, having him in the middle of the Jays’ rotation bodes well for the upcoming season.
According to Fangraphs’ Steamer, Gausman is projected to post a 4.05 ERA and 3.95 FIP in 185 innings pitched, with a 23 K% and 7 BB%. Hopefully, he can post another sub-4.00 ERA in the final year of his deal.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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