MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MAY 02: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on during the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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The Toronto Blue Jays dramatically reshaped their roster before Monday’s trade deadline, parting ways with several key veterans as the organization looked toward the near-term future. Familiar names departed in a flurry of deals, leaving a clubhouse that suddenly looked much different.
With the team failing to recapture the momentum that carried it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series last year, it was clear that the front office would try to ship off some expiring contracts and net future talent in return. But the team did hold onto some key veterans, even as they parted ways with numerous members of the pennant-winning club from last year.
Toronto Blue Jays’ George Springer Holds Emotional Goodbye With Teammates Amid Deadline Flurry
Among the biggest questions entering deadline day was whether veteran slugger George Springer would be moved.
The 36-year-old was widely viewed as one of Toronto’s most logical trade candidates given his expiring contract, though he holds the power to veto any move. Ultimately, Springer remained with the Blue Jays, but the departures of a pair of longtime teammates evidently took an emotional toll.
After the team traded outfielder Daulton Varsho to the Houston Astros on Monday, he revealed that he and Springer held a tearful goodbye with Kevin Gausman the day before, who was dealt to the Chicago Cubs.
“I felt it last night with Gausman on the plane,” Varsho said of flooding emotions during the flurry of transactions, according to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. “We broke down and he cried with me and George.”
Toronto Blue Jays’ George Springer ‘Broke Down’ And Cried With Daulton Varsho, Kevin Gausman
The emotional exchange came as Gausman was traded away on Sunday, but Varsho and Springer surely understood that they could be next, signaling the official end for a group of players who nearly took the World Series championship from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.
In addition to Springer, the team also opted to retain veterans Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer.
“The Toronto Blue Jays’ very busy trade deadline is now complete,” Sportsnet reported. “The Blue Jays will not trade designated hitter George Springer, as well as pitchers Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber… The trio were expected to be moved, as all three players are on expiring contracts.”
Though Springer will end the season with the Blue Jays, it could be his last in Toronto. He is playing out the final season of the five-year contract he signed before the 2021 campaign. Entering the stretch run, he’s batting .239 with a .320 on-base percentage, with a .411 slugging percentage, 12 home runs and 36 RBIs. He is also seen as a key clubhouse leader.
“It was important for him to be here,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of Springer after the deadline, per Sportsnet. “We wanted him here as we continue to push forward.”
Although Springer survived one of the busiest trade deadlines in franchise history, his emotional goodbye with Gausman and Varsho illustrated that staying behind wasn’t necessarily easy.