The Toronto Blue Jays and right-hander Dylan Cease agreed to a seven-year $210 million deal on Wednesday. The club has not yet confirmed the deal.
Dylan Cease, who is entering his seventh season in the majors, was perhaps the hottest ticket going into free agency this offseason, alongside Michael King, who was his teammate while with the San Diego Padres. The market for starting pitching is routinely one of the most barren in the majors, especially with someone as reliable as Cease. It only makes sense that such a unique occasion would give way to the largest free agent signing in Blue Jays history.
Cease finished his 2025 season with an 8–12 record and a 4.55 ERA. His final game with the Padres, Game Two of the NL Wild Card series, bookended what was already a pretty legendary run with the Friars. Against the Chicago Cubs, he tossed 3 2/3 innings, striking out five of the 15 batters he faced while not allowing a run to score. That would be the only playoff match the Padres would win out of the three-game series.
On the other hand, the Blue Jays made it all the way to the World Series but eventually fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Seven. Something evident, not just during the series but during the playoffs as a whole, is how much of a virtue reliable starting pitching really is. In that department, Cease is the best option money could buy.
Strengths and Weaknesses
He hasn’t gone a season without getting at least 200 strikeouts since 2020. In the past four years, he’s been top ten in the league for strikeouts, peaking at third in 2024 amongst qualified players.
2024 in particular was a fantastic year for Cease. For the Padres, Cease started 33 games, matching his career high from the previous year. He ended the season with a 14–11 record and throw his first no-hitter against the Washington Nationals. He ended the season with his second-best ERA, 3.47, and lowest career WHIP with 1.067. Cease finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting the same year.
Perhaps his only Achilles heel is his inconsistency as a player. Reliable as he may be for strikeouts, it doesn’t paint the full picture of the kind of player he is.
Cease has noticeable periods of success and failure. In 2022, Cease finished second in NL Cy Young voting with his career-best year in ERA and strikeouts. Following his performance, Cease finished 2023 with his second-worst ERA and third-lowest in strikeouts. That year, he also tied the league lead in most wild pitches, a metric he consistently ranks high on. This trend followed into 2024, where Cease had another great year before taking a step back in 2025.
That being said, perhaps his greatest trait is his dependability. Whether he’s playing well or not, you can trust that he’s always going to be available. He’s remained healthy for the vast majority of his career, with the most recent injury taking place in 2021. Per 162 games, Cease averages 184 total innings. Generally speaking, he’s also capable of going deep into games with his average a little over five. A virtue in baseball nowadays is spreading your bullpen thin often comes at a cost.
Why The Blue Jays Picked Cease
Strengths and weaknesses aside, it’s clear the Blue Jays see more potential in Cease than he’s already demonstrated. Developing pitchers is something the club has proven they’re capable of multiple times.
A great example is Robbie Ray, who joined the organization late into the COVID-Season. Before the Blue Jays, Ray had a 4.26 career ERA and averaged less than 150 strikeouts per season. In his first and only full season as a Blue Jay, he led the league with 248 strikeouts and had his career best ERA, WHIP and innings pitched. In addition, Ray took home the AL Cy Young Award and finish 15th in AL MVP voting.
Cease is already good, but if he can find a way to improve somehow, or at the very least gain some stronger consistency. His contract may pay for itself and then some.
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