TORONTO - Imagine having to leave your family to work in a different city for a new company on one day's notice. Not exactly the most pleasant experience.
With next Monday's trade deadline looming, many Toronto Blue Jays players are facing that reality.
The defending American League champions came into the season with lofty expectations after coming agonizingly close to winning the 2025 World Series. The team's front office spent hundreds of millions in the offseason to bolster what looked like one of MLB's best rosters. The problem is that baseball is nonsensical. Toronto has struggled immensely to replicate last year's magic, sinking to the bottom of the AL East with at least a half dozen clubs standing in its way in the wild-card race.
"This is part of the gig," three-time Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer told theScore. "This is a job. Baseball is funny. It can punch you sideways in so many different ways, but no matter what (happens) in this game, you always have to fight back. Always have to find a way to compete and win. That is the job description. We sign up for this."
The Blue Jays have to fight - and will need some luck too - as the trade deadline closes in. Otherwise, they're likely set for an unexpected sell-off, one that would see postseason heroes and fan favorites shipped out for prospects who resemble lottery balls more than future lineup fixtures.
Kevin Gausman, George Springer, Shane Bieber, Daulton Varsho, and Scherzer are all pending free agents, which means they're likely to be dealt. Springer and Scherzer have full no-trade clauses, but it's hard to imagine they wouldn't agree to a deal for a chance to play in October again.
"I have a family and kids, but I feel like I'm pretty good at focusing on the baseball side," Gausman told theScore. "At the same time, it's impossible to ignore it now with social media and just the amount of people that you will run into that will talk to you about it. We've kind of put ourselves in this spot, so can't really be surprised by what's to come."
Gausman, who arrived on a five-year, $110-million contract in December 2021, has enjoyed some of the best moments of his 14-year career in Toronto. The 35-year-old has contributed to a pennant winner, three playoff teams, earned a 2023 AL Cy Young finalist spot, and received an All-Star nod. He also became one of seven active pitchers to reach the 2,000-strikeout club.
"I don't want to not be a Blue Jay," Gausman said. "In my mind, I'm a Blue Jay forever, and that includes the rest of this season. I also understand this is a business. They (management) have to do what's best for the organization. I'm not an idiot to not think about those things. At the same time, my focus is still here with these guys."
Gausman has regressed in 2026, sporting his worst ERA (4.51) since 2019. However, the right-hander should still have plenty of suitors, as he's authored a 3.68 FIP with a 9.1 K/9 and sits in the 84th percentile for chase rate thanks to his elite splitter. The veteran hurler also reportedly has a no-trade list that includes the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Athletics, and New York Mets.
Gausman may have already made his last home start with the Blue Jays, though he could get one more against the St. Louis Cardinals next weekend before the Aug. 3 deadline.
"Just that whole (2025) postseason," the veteran pitcher said when asked about his favorite moment with the Blue Jays. "I was really lucky to make almost all my postseason starts here at home. It was such an electric atmosphere filled with so much positivity. Such a special time to be part of that. ... To toe the rubber for this team and for those guys, it was something I'll never forget."
Varsho, like Gausman, is facing the possibility of being traded. The 30-year-old has spent four years in Toronto, building friendships and establishing relationships on and off the field.
"Trust your family. Life is life," Varsho told theScore. "It's going to kick you when you're down, but you gotta find the joy and excitement in everything that's going on. Guys are going through a lot of things - here at the ballpark or at home. So, put your arms around them and give them a hug. Everything is going to be fine."
The 30-year-old has struggled at the plate, going deep seven times with a .692 OPS over 92 games after hitting 20 homers in just 71 contests last season. The 2024 Gold Glover's defense is still valuable, as he sits in the 90th percentile for outs above average.
"We just have to stop worrying about it (deadline) and go play our best baseball," Varsho added. "I know I've been putting a lot of pressure (on myself). Trying to do everything perfectly. Honestly, I just need to go back to being able to play, go have fun, and enjoy it. I have no control over anything. The one thing I can control is going and giving my best effort. It's just one of those things where you gotta stop putting so much pressure on yourself."
General manager Ross Atkins and the rest of the front office could also decide to move players under contract beyond this season. Relievers are always a hot commodity, which makes Jeff Hoffman and his 2.74 FIP and 13.7 K/9 attractive to potential contenders.
"It helps you understand the business side of it, especially when it happens early on in your career," Hoffman told theScore, acknowledging he was dealt as a prospect at the 2015 deadline in the Troy Tulowitzki-José Reyes blockbuster. "At that time, I thought I was going to be a Blue Jay for my entire career, then you get moved, and your whole world gets flipped upside down. ... I've had to go into new clubhouses and that kind of stuff. It wouldn't totally be foreign to me. I've been through it before."
Hoffman's played for the Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Colorado Rockies. He understands what it's like to deal with change, a sentiment he would share with any teammate seeking advice on how to handle deadline stress.
"I feel like the best thing we can really do is stay submerged in our routines and let our preparation carry us into the game," the 33-year-old said. "Just let it go when we are out there (on the field). Just be in the flow of the game and whatever happens, happens. ... Don't play like yesterday matters because it doesn't."
The Blue Jays could also look for a bigger return in a seller's market by dangling All-Star closer Louis Varland or prized setup man Tyler Rogers, who signed a three-year, $37-million deal during the offseason. The blueprint would be how the Athletics got No. 2 overall prospect Leo De Vries from the San Diego Padres for Mason Miller at last year's deadline.
Moved to the Mets last July, Rogers is all too familiar with the emotions that sometimes come at this time of year.
"It's kind of hard to describe," Rogers told theScore when asked what it's like getting traded at the deadline. "The way that I looked at it was that I was a reliever who was a pending free agent. Those guys get dealt a lot. It was just another chapter in my career. It's something that you look back on in the offseason and just try to stay in the moment."
Despite a tough season that has put the Blue Jays in this position, manager John Schneider is trying to remain optimistic.
"You look at the (Boston) Red Sox. You look at the 2021 (Atlanta) Braves, who didn't get to over .500 until Aug. 13. You're just waiting for it to turn," Schneider said. "You're grasping on players performing better that can perform better (and) grasping on ways to make that happen quick or quicker. Baseball is stupid. It can turn on a dime.
"We all know it has to turn now and are frustrated that it hasn't but there's always hope until there is not."
