While Cease can struggle with his control there's no doubt about his swing-and-miss ability.
On Wednesday, the Toronto Blue Jays struck big on the free agent market by signing right-hander Dylan Cease to a seven-year deal worth $210 million.
The move jumpstarts Toronto's offseason as it works to get back to the World Series in 2026, and it completes the starting rotation for next year (if everyone is healthy).
Cease will pair with Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber. We covered the rotation more extensively here.
Cease in a rare group
Though Cease put together an unsightly 8-12 record and a 4.55 ERA with the San Diego Padres in 2025, he brings elite swing-and-miss traits with him to Toronto.
Per @MLBStats on social media:
Dylan Cease struck out 200+ batters each year from 2021-25. Only 3 other active players have matched such a streak:
Chris Sale: 2013–2019 (7 seasons)
Max Scherzer: 2012–2019 (8 seasons)
Justin Verlander: 2009–2013 (5 seasons)
A seven-year veteran of the Chicago White Sox and Padres, Cease is set to turn 30 in December. He's 65-58 for his career with a 3.88 ERA. Incredibly durable, he's made 32 starts or more in each of the last five seasons. For a rotation that dealt with injury attrition this year (Max Scherzer, Berrios, Bowden Francis), that's incredibly important as well.
How the signing affects the rest of the Jays offseason
This is going to be fascinating, for a few different reasons.
For starters, the Jays have now given a $500 million extension to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a $210 million deal to Cease, and they absorbed approximately $100 million on the contract for Andres Gimenez when they traded for him before the 2025 campaign.
It would be understandable if Toronto wants to shut down the spending, but they are now flush with playoff revenue that they didn't budget for. And on top of that, Gausman and George Springer have massive contracts that come off the books after the 2026 campaign, so there could be more spending to come.
The Jays have been linked to free agent sluggers Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, as well as infielder Bo Bichette. They've also been connected, at least lukewarmly, to a trade for infielder Ketel Marte.
This signing likely closes the door on a reunion with Scherzer or free agent pitcher Chris Bassitt.
What's next
The Blue Jays broke the mold by signing Cease, but the baseball world typically goes dormant around the American Thanksgiving holiday. Things are expected to pick back up soon, with the winter meetings looming from Dec. 7-10 in Orlando.
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