Blue Jays star unlikely to be traded but it's also not impossible

The Toronto Blue Jays sit four games under .500 thus far in the 2024 season. They are floating around the .500 mark and they absolutely have the talent to make a turnaround, but they sit in the AL East, the most daunting division in all of baseball.

The obvious answer with the talent already on their roster would be to reload. Trade for a few players to fill some holes before the trade deadline and attempt to compete with the big dogs down the stretch. But there is a chance they begin to spiral downwards.

If they start to lose more and more baseball games, there's an outside chance they would explore some interesting options on the trade market, including trading stars like Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr.

MLB Rumors: Blue Jays likely won't trade Kevin Gausman, but it's not impossible

Meanwhile, the Jays also have Kevin Gausman, a true ace in today's game. He can go head-to-head with the game's best pitchers because, well, he is one of the game's best pitchers. That isn't necessarily reflected in his 2024 performance though.

In 2024, Gausman has a negative WAR and an ERA close to five, both numbers that haven't been Gausman-like in quite a long time. But this will likely turnaround in the near future, as Gausman is still the same All-Star caliber arm that he was a season ago.

But should Toronto explore trading him? It's not likely, for a few reasons, as noted by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic on Fair Territory.

The first reason Gausman won't move is his contract. He's locked down through 2026, meaning he can remain the team's ace for the next three seasons. There's no reason to panic and deal an arm like Gausman with that much team control.

The next reason is his value right now. His current trade value is lower than it's been in the last few seasons. He's not pitching like the same dominant ace that he's shown he is, so trading him at less value just doesn't make much sense.

But it's not impossible. There's still a chance that Toronto smashes the panic button and enters a full scale rebuild this season. They may need to, with the current state of teams like the Yankees and the Orioles.

Either way, Toronto needs to find a way to catch up to those big time AL East teams and they need to do it quickly before they fall too far behind in the division.