Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer praised the acquisition of starter Kevin Gausman, referring to him as a “white whale.”
The Cubs sent INF Ty Southisene and OF Brett Bateman to the Toronto Blue Jays ahead of the MLB trade deadline for Gausman, a front-end starter who should help the Cubs immensely as they head into the playoffs, as he has tons of playoff experience, including pitching in last year’s World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In fact, Hoyer admitted that the Cubs have been targeting Gausman for a while.
Jed Hoyer Praises Kevin Gausman
Speaking to reporters after the trade deadline passed, Hoyer had nothing but praise for Gausman, whom he referred to as a “white whale” for the organization.
“He was kind of a white whale type target for us, going way back,” Hoyer said (via MLB.com).
According to Hoyer, once the Blue Jays made Gausman available in trade talks, the Cubs pounced and were finally able to acquire a pitcher whom Hoyer had been trying for years to bring to Chicago.
With Gausman now in the team’s rotation, the Cubs have a bona fide workhorse leading the way as Chicago looks to make a deep postseason run.
What Kevin Gausman Brings to Chicago
For Cubs fans who aren’t familiar with Gausman, since he has spent most of his MLB career in the American League, they are getting an excellent veteran pitcher who eats innings and provides invaluable leadership in the clubhouse.
This season, Gausman had a bit of a down year for the Blue Jays, as he had a 4.38 ERA in 127.1 IP and 1.5 bWAR. But just last season, Gausman had a 3.59 ERA in 193 IP with a 4.0 bWAR, so he isn’t far removed from being a top-end starting pitcher in the league.
He also finished in third place in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2023 and ninth in 2022 with the Blue Jays. In his last stint in the National League with the San Francisco Giants in 2021, Gausman was sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting when he had a 2.81 ERA in 192 IP for the Giants with 5.2 bWAR.
The Cubs are surely hoping to get at least last year’s version of Gausman, when he was the Blue Jays’ ace as they went to Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Though they ultimately came up short in seven games to the mighty Dodgers, Gausman was his usual excellent self, as he did everything that the Blue Jays asked of him during their magical postseason run last year.
Right now, Gausman is just a rental, as he is on an expiring contract with the Cubs. However, if he performs well in Chicago and meshes well with his new teammates, there is of course the chance that Hoyer tries to ink him to a contract extension. After all, he has tried for many years to bring him to Chicago, and now he’s finally here.
Overall, getting Gausman was a nice piece of work by Hoyer, as he only had to part with two mid-level prospects to get someone with high upside as a potential ace if he gets back to being the pitcher he was the last few years for the Blue Jays.
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