Giants never offered Kevin Gausman a contract

Two of the biggest questions this offseason for the San Francisco Giants were whether or not they would re-sign Kevin Gausman, and what type of contract he would receive, from the Giants or from a different team. It didn’t take too long to find an answer, as the 2021 All-Star signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays a few days before the owners lockout of the players began.

It was a brutal hit to the Giants rotation but, in their estimation, not as brutal as the hit to their payroll would have been had they re-signed him. Looking at Farhan Zaidi’s track record, both with the Giants and other organizations, it was no surprise that the team didn’t want to dive that deep into their pockets for a pitcher who, while quite good, still has only one elite season to his name, and looks more like a very good No. 2 starter than a frontline ace.

But it was still a blow.

Many have hypothesized as to how much the Giants were willing to offer Gausman, and it seems we may never know. Because according to the pitcher himself, the Giants never actually made an offer.

At first glance, that’s a pretty rough reality to absorb. Gausman did a lot for the Giants in his two seasons, and you’d like the team to have at least made an effort to show him how much they liked having him around.

But in reality, the conversation probably went like this:

Gausman: Gonna go outside and explore the market, be back later.

Giants: Gotcha. Be back for dinner.

Gausman: Toronto’s offering me five and 110.

Giants: Any interest in a higher annual salary for fewer years?

Gausman: No, not really.

Giants: K.

Gausman: ...

Giants: ...

Gausman: I’m just gonna ... uhh ... go now.

Giants: Cool.

Gausman: Have a good one.

Giants: Yeah, you too.

Gausman admitted prior to signing his new contract that he thinks the Giants weren’t anticipating him having such a spectacular year, in which he finished sixth in Cy Young Award voting, and that he likely priced himself out of the market.

It seems he was right, and the lack of an offered contract is likely just both sides acknowledging that instead of doing the awkward and uncomfortable dance.

It certainly seems like Gausman holds no ill will against the Giants. His tweet about the lack of contract has no snark or vitriol, and the following tweets were sent long after having signed with Toronto:

He even sent this tweet a few days ago:

Now that tweet was definitely about Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, but I’d like to think subconsciously it was actually expressing confidence in Joey Bart.

Either way, Gausman is a Blue Jay, and we’ll never know what the Giants were willing to pay him, because the Giants never let him know what they were willing to pay him.