Ex Blue Jay sings the highest of praises for current ace Kevin Gausman

When it comes to some of the greatest pitchers to have ever played for the Toronto Blue Jays in the history of the franchise, there’s no question that the names Dave Stieb, Tom Henke and of course the late Roy Halladay quickly come to mind. However, former Blue Jays fan favourite Kevin Pillar believes that Kevin Gausman deserves just as much recognition once his work is done with Toronto.

On a recent episode on the Blue Bird Territory podcast, Pillar showed his admiration of the current Blue Jays' ace and his elite splitter. Added to the contract that he had signed with Toronto and what he has done for the Blue Jays organization to date, Pillar believed he will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in team history.

Pillar says Gausman will be remembered as one of the greats in team history 

“He’s (Gausman) going to go down potentially as the greatest contract ever for the Toronto Blue Jays. He’s lived up to the money that they paid him and he surpassed it,” Pillar said. “He’s going to have his rightful place in Toronto Blue Jays great pitchers in the history of the game when it’s all said and done.”

Pillar certainly has a strong point. After all, Gausman has delivered top dollar for Toronto since his arrival in town. At an annual average salary of $22 million per season, there won’t be a better bargain that one could find in the league for a No. 1 starter during this part of the decade.

In his five seasons with the Blue Jays, the 35-year-old veteran has compiled a 48-41 record with a stellar 3.44 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, along with 814 strikeouts in 745.2 total innings pitched. Gausman has also been an All-Star for Toronto, as well as finishing third in AL Cy Young voting in 2023.

He has been leading the pitching staff once again this 2026 season with his historical start to the year. Gausman became the first pitcher since 1900 to record 10+ strikeouts and zero walks in their first two starts of the MLB season. Currently, he ranks sixth in ERA (3.44), second in WHIP (1.16) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.8) on the all-time list among Blue Jays pitchers. And at age 35 and counting, he doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.

Even in his first loss of the season to the LA Dodgers on Tuesday night (Apr. 7) Gausman pitched an effective 5.1 innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts - numbers that would give any team a chance to win on any given night, let alone when facing the Dodgers and holding their vaunted offence to just a trio of runs.

Gausman’s contract is set to expire upon the end of the 2026 season. But no matter whether his journey with the Blue Jays will continue or ultimately come to an end after this year, he has certainly made his mark with the franchise, one that should undundoubtedly be remembered by Jays fans everywhere.