A free agent last offseason, Kevin Gausman opted to accept the Giants¡¯ one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer. The right-hander went on to earn his first All-Star selection in 2021, recording a 2.81 ERA with 227 strikeouts over 192 innings for the 107-win NL West champions in his age-30 season. His impressive season paid off as he hit free agency again and agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract with the Blue Jays, a source told MLB.com.

Here¡¯s what you need to know about Gausman:

FAST FACTS
Birthdate: Jan. 6, 1991 (Age 31 in 2022)
Primary position: SP
Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 190 lbs.
Bats/throws: Right/right
Place of birth: Centennial, Col.
School(s): Grandview (Col.) HS; LSU
Drafted: 1st round (4th), 2012, by Orioles
MLB debut: May 23, 2013
Qualifying offer: Not eligible to receive one

THE NUMBERS
2021: 14-6, 2.81 ERA (145 ERA+), 227 K, 5.3 WAR* in 192 IP
Career: 64-72, 4.02 ERA (105 ERA+), 1,161 K, 16.8 WAR in 1,177 1/3 IP
* Per Baseball-Reference

STAT TO KNOW
Gausman not only had his first All-Star season in 2021, but also a career year in many categories. The right-hander posted single-season bests in ERA (2.81), WHIP (1.04), strikeouts (227), innings (192), WAR (5.3), hits allowed per nine innings (7.0) and opponents¡¯ OPS (.609), building on a strong showing for San Francisco during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

QUESTION MARK
Which version of Gausman will Toronto be getting? The one who had a 4.30 ERA (99 ERA+) for the Orioles, Braves and Reds across 2013-19 ¡­ or the ace-level stud the Giants saw take the mound over the past two years? The one who posted a 1.73 ERA over 18 first-half starts ... or the one who pitched to a 4.42 ERA after the All-Star break?

He¡¯s one of 10 players ever to accept a qualifying offer
The qualifying offer was implemented in 2012. Through '20, 96 players received one. Only 10 accepted, including both Gausman and Marcus Stroman a year ago. The first eight to accept it were Colby Rasmus, Brett Anderson and Matt Wieters in '15, Jeremy Hellickson and Neil Walker in ¡®16, Hyun-Jin Ryu in ¡®18 and Jos¨¦ Abreu and Jake Odorizzi in ¡®19.

Gausman's deal is the largest ever for a player coming off a qualifying-offer season. This was the next deal for each of the previous eight players:

Rasmus: One year, $5 million with Rays
Anderson: One year, $3.5 million with Cubs
Wieters: Two years, $21 million with Nationals
Hellickson: Minor League deal with Nationals
Walker: One year, $4 million with Yankees
Ryu: Four years, $80 million with Blue Jays
Abreu: Three years, $50 million with White Sox (contract replaced qualifying offer)
Odorizzi: Two years, $20.25 million with Astros

Gausman is ineligible to receive another qualifying offer, which means he was not tied to Draft-pick compensation this offseason, something that possibly made him more appealing in free agency.

His splitter/four-seamer combo was elite
Gausman¡¯s success in 2021 hinged on a devastating splitter and four-seam fastball combination. He used the two pitches 88% of the time combined and picked up 219 K¡¯s, including 138 on splitters alone. No pitcher recorded more strikeouts on an individual pitch type than Gausman did with his splitter.

Gausman¡¯s run value (the run impact of an event based on the runners on base, outs, ball and strike count) on splitters was -23, tied for the second best in MLB behind Carlos Rod¨®n¡¯s four-seam fastball (-26). He also posted a -12 run value on four-seamers, putting him in elite company.

MLB pitchers with two pitch types of -12 run value or better
Kevin Gausman: splitter (-23), four-seamer (-12)
Jacob deGrom: four-seamer (-15), slider (-14)
Lance McCullers Jr.: slider (-14), knuckle-curve (-13)
Joe Musgrove: curveball (-17), slider (-13)
Carlos Rod¨®n: four-seamer (-26), slider (-14)
Max Scherzer: four-seamer (-18), slider (-14)
Zack Wheeler: four-seamer (-14), sinker (-12)

He¡¯s among Giants legends
Gausman's Giants tenure has come to an end, but the righty has carved out a place among some of the franchise's greatest pitchers.

There have been only 11 instances since the Giants moved to the West Coast in 1958 in which a San Francisco pitcher struck out at least 220 batters and posted a sub-3.00 ERA in a season. The others to do it before Gausman? Hall of Famers Juan Marichal (three times) and Gaylord Perry (twice), two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (three times) and Madison Bumgarner (twice).