Toronto Blue Jays fans feared the worst when it was revealed that star pitcher Kevin Gausman was battling shoulder fatigue in spring training. Gausman recently received a positive update, however, which lessened the concern. On Friday, Gausman shutdown any uncertainty about his Opening Day status, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
“Great news for the Blue Jays. Today, Kevin Gausman told @StevePhillipsGM and @Xavier_Scruggs on our @MLBNetworkRadio tour: ‘I'll be ready for the regular season.' Gausman said he simply tried to do too much, too early, in spring training,” Morosi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
This is indeed great news for the Blue Jays. It was a disappointing offseason for Toronto after they missed out on free agents such as Shohei Ohtani and Cody Bellinger. Additionally, Matt Chapman left and signed with the San Francisco Giants in MLB free agency.
So a Gausman injury to open the 2024 season would have been another tough pill to swallow. Fortunately, the superstar hurler is expecting to be ready to go on Opening Day.
Kevin Gausman's impact on Blue Jays
Gausman made his Blue Jays debut in 2022 following his breakout 2021 season with the San Francisco Giants. Overall, Gausman has earned Cy Young consideration in each of the past three years.
In 2023, though, Gausman received the most Cy Young consideration of his career, finishing third in American League Cy Young voting. He ultimately pitched to the tune of a 3.16 ERA and 1.178 WHIP across 185 innings. Gausman also led the league with 237 strikeouts.
Durability has also been a positive element of Kevin Gausman's game in recent seasons. In fact, he made 33 starts back in 2021 with the Giants and has started exactly 31 games in each of the past two years with the Blue Jays.
Toronto is hopeful that Gausman can avoid the injury bug once again in 2024. At the moment, Kevin Gausman is preparing to lead the Blue Jays into the new campaign.
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