The Blue Jays could take advantage of seller's market with under-the-radar trade chip

The 2024 MLB trade deadline is exactly one week away and the stove is red-hot. There are a ton of players, including many on the Blue Jays, that will be changing uniforms over the next seven days or so.

One position that isn't exactly filled to the brim with options is starting pitcher. Jack Flaherty, Yusei Kikuchi, Garrett Crochet, Tyler Anderson and Erick Fedde are some of the top trade chips, but there isn't a long list of starters teams are willing to move. With the Blue Jays heading for a sell-off, it's worth wondering if Kikuchi's teammate, Kevin Gausman, could be moved too.

Blue Jays fans have been extremely hesitant to commit to a full blown rebuild that would involve Gausman being moved, but the club should consider the possibility. He's under team control through the 2026 season, which boosts his value immensely since he won't be a pure rental, and is only one year removed from a five-year stretch of ace-like dominance on the mound.

This year, the right-hander has struggled a bit, posting a 4.55 ERA and 89 ERA+ through 20 starts and 110.2 innings of work. His strikeouts are down, his hit and home run rates are elevated and, well, things just haven't looked good for him. He's shown occasional glimpses of hope, including three 10-strikeout starts, one of them being his first career complete game shutout, but other than that, it's been a down year for him.

Much like Bo Bichette, teams could look to acquire Gausman in hopes that they can be the ones to make a tweak or two to get him turned around. Bichette's placement on the injured list removed him from the trade market (not that he was a lock to be dealt anyway), but Gausman could be a hot name over the next week or so.

The Blue Jays are falling further and further out of the race as the days go by. Entering their upcoming series against the Rays, the Jays are 45-54, 15 games out of the top spot in the AL East and 10 games back of a Wild Card spot, which is just as disappointing. The club had a shot to squeeze into the final WC spot for a while there, but things are spiraling.

Moving Gausman now comes with its pros and cons. The Blue Jays front office has expressed a desire to make one last run to the promised land with Bichette-Vladimir Guerrero Jr. core next season, so moving one of their top starting pitchers doesn't exactly coincide with that. However, it's entirely possible that he could be moved for a big league-ready starter that could easily replace him as soon as this season.

It will be interesting to see how Gausman is handled over the next week. With a serious lack of starting pitching options, desperate teams may reach out to the Blue Jays and do what they can to pry him out of their hands. Desperate buyers lead to larger trade packages.