Chicago Cubs and Kevin Gausman love affair begins in Kansas City

The Chicago Cubs made their first trade deadline move ahead of the August 3 cutoff date when they acquired starting pitcher Kevin Gausman from the Toronto Blue Jays for Triple-A outfielder Brett Bateman and Class-A infielder Ty Southisene.

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The swap was a well-received one in Chicago. It was the team’s first move to fortify a starting rotation stressed and strained by injury and they were able to pull it off while only giving up a pair of prospects with no real path to the majors right now anyway.

Right off the bat, the trade has paid dividends for the Cubs.

Gausman gives the Cubs what they need

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On Friday, the 35-year-old righty delivered seven quality innings in a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals, allowing only two earned runs with four strikeouts and one walk. Cubs fans held their collective breaths when Gausman was cracked in the ankle by a line drive in the first inning, but the scary-looking shot turned out to be a non-issue. This was the kind of late-inning outing the tired, but ever-churning Cubs bullpen needed.

After the game, there was nothing but mutual admiration in the Cubs locker room.

“Man, I can’t say enough about this defense,” Gausman told reporters. “You notice it right away. Guys are running all over the place, putting their body on the line. A lot of fun.”

The Gausman love was definitely reciprocated.

“It seemed like he got stronger as it went,” catcher Carson Kelly told media. “He’s nasty. He really is.”

Counsell on Gausman

Cubs manager Craig Counsell went into greater detail on Gausman and what a guy like him brings to a playoff-bound team.

“That’s one of the reasons you trade for somebody like this,” Counsell said. “This is a guy that we can’t throw something at him that he hasn’t seen. Guys like that are prepared for anything. That doesn’t take away the emotion of getting traded, or seeing your old team kind of come to town right away. But it teaches you how to process it and move forward.

“And Gaus has been in every situation. And he’s been in big situations. And he’s been traded. And he’s been on the next team. He knows how he has to react to that to be an effective pitcher. And tonight was a great example of it.”

Of course, this is only one game, with the high-pressure late-season and postseason days just about to come. But, as Counsell said, Gausman has seen everything. His reputation as a clutch postseason asset also can’t be overlooked—and it probably played a big role in the Cubs front office deciding to deal two Top 30 prospects for a free agency-bound rental.

Meanwhile, the Cubs’ other veteran starting pitcher deadline acquisition, Clay Holmes, is set to pitch on Saturday. He brings a similar high-achieving veteran profile as Gausman. The hope is that the two accomplished starters will anchor a playoff rotation now equipped to go deep into the postseason.

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