A few days removed from the end of a disappointing season, Toronto Blue Jays players have begun to reflect on social media about their 2026 experience.

Ace right-hander Dylan Cease expressed his gratitude and support to the fans for their support and said the group is motivated to get back in 2027. He also said that playing for the city of Toronto and the country of Canada is an honor.

Of course, when the team gets back remains to be seen, as everything that happens this offseason will be clouded by the impending labor issues. The Collective Bargaining Agreement runs out on Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET and that point, the sport is expected to go into a freeze, potentially for months.

Spring training is scheduled to start in February as always, but there is a very real chance that it's pushed back.

Signed to a seven-year, $210 million deal last offseason, Cease was everything the Jays could have wanted in a staff ace. He made 29 starts, going 11-6 with a 2.40 ERA. He struck out 239 batters in 169.0 innings, also leading the league in hits/9, homers/9 and strikeouts/9. He's likely to finish second in the American League Cy Young voting to Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees. 

Opponents hit only .180 against him. 

Unfortunately, he ended the season on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, but he's expected to have a normal offseason. However, if and when the lockout hits, there will be no communication between players and team personnel, so he will not have access to team doctors.

Cease had started 30 games or more in five straight seasons, a streak that has come to an end.

Cease is clearly penciled in as the leader of the rotation moving forward, and if he's healthy, he'll be the starter on Opening Day. Beyond him, right-hander Jose Soriano is there as well, and so is youngster Trey Yesavage.

Cody Ponce, who was signed to a three-year deal worth $30 million last offseason and tore his ACL in his first start, will be there too. That leaves one spot currently to be filled, and while the Jays could go outside the organization for it, they do have internal options like Ricky Tiedemann and Nolan Perry, as well as Jose Berrios and Bowden Francis, who had Tommy John surgery before the start of 2026. Shane Bieber has expressed interest in returning as well.