BOSTON — Kevin Gausman smiled as an electronic pitch call arrived in his ear. The slick-haired starter nodded, brought a glove to his face and began his delivery.The splitter that followed, diving below a Boston Red Sox bat in Sunday’s sixth inning, ended Gausman’s start at six innings and three earned runs allowed. It was his 916th strikeout as a Toronto Blue Jay. It might be his last.If that was it, and Gausman is dealt at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the pitch was a fitting final chapter. The splitter brought Gausman this far. It transformed him from tumultuous top prospect to All-Star and playoff starter. It earned him a five-year deal with the Jays and became a stable asset in Toronto’s rotation. There is no better offering to end on.“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Gausman said after his start. “That would be my wish. That would mean that we’re playing good baseball. But I also realize it’s a business. Whatever happens is out of my control.”Gausman is in line for one more start ahead of the trade deadline, which would be an opportunity to close his Jays career at home. He’d surely, regardless of result, get a standing ovation earned over five seasons. Gausman and his family fell in love with Toronto, a city that reciprocated. However, that outing would come Aug. 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals, two days before the deadline. He could be traded by then, and if not, sellers often rest starters they’re destined to trade to avoid a last-minute injury.The Blue Jays’ struggles could mean George Springer will be on the move to another team ahead of the trade deadline. (Winslow Townson / Getty Images)There are going to be so many “was that it?” moments for Toronto in the next week as the deadline looms. With Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the Red Sox, the Jays moved back to 10 games below .500 and 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. Even if they haven’t publicly declared themselves as sellers, multiple opposing teams had scouts at Fenway Park over the weekend to assess players who might move. Maybe the Jays will rattle off wins in the next week, but selling is the prudent move at this point. Selling means saying goodbye.It could mean the final at-bat for George Springer, who raised his July OPS to .867 with seven total bases in Boston. There might be a last lash for Daulton Varsho or a final Jays start for Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer. Not every player will get an obvious last moment. Many will pass without our even realizing it. Like Gausman’s Sunday splitter, some might have already happened.Vladimir Guerrero Jr. asks for patience: ‘I can get better’As the $500 million face of the Blue Jays franchise, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his voice carry weight in low points such as this. The first baseman, stepping in front of a small group of reporters Saturday in Boston, was asked for his message to frustrated fans. Guerrero requested patience.There are still over 50 games left for the Jays’ season to turn around, he said. There’s time for his homers to appear and the hard hits to fly far more frequently.“I know I’m better than this,” Guerrero said through team interpreter Hector Lebron. “I know I can get better. It’s frustrating, but 58 games left. You know how baseball is. Anything can happen.”In many ways, Guerrero is right. He does have many games left to hit homers, and the Jays could go on a run, but the reality is more than two-thirds of Toronto’s season is over. Even a 15-homer outburst in the last two months would give Guerrero the lowest full-season total of his career. Even a few win streaks from the Jays might not be enough to claw their way back to the postseason. Maybe the 2026 Jays are already beyond that point, but eventually time does run out.Max Scherzer is rejoining the rotationAfter just one rehab start and 56 pitches in Triple-A Buffalo, Max Scherzer is back in the Jays’ rotation. The righty will start Toronto’s series opener in Washington on Monday, back in the city in which he spent over six years.The 41-year-old’s many ailments — back, ankle, thumb, forearm and more — have frustrated Scherzer all season, he said. He’s sick of talking about them. After three shots in his thumb and a couple of weeks of feeling well, Scherzer can finally talk about a real game again.“Talking to him and understanding where he was physically,” manager John Schneider said, “how he recovered from the rehab outing in Buffalo. I think he may be a little bit limited in terms of pitch count, but I think he kind of checked all the boxes.”Scherzer’s return, against one of baseball’s most threatening offences, is an opportunity to start righting his sideways season and shrinking his 10.23 ERA. He can set a tone for a Jays team that could use some solid starting pitching. He can also flash to trade-deadline buyers that, even in his 19th season, he can still get outs and help a real winner. Scherzer, who has pitched in the playoffs in seven of the last 10 seasons, surely wants another crack at October.It’s one start, and it probably won’t last that long, but there’s plenty to play for.