The Toronto Blue Jays were one of the most active teams this offseason in free agency.

Most of the Blue Jays' new additions came via the pitching staff and the crown jewel signing of the offseason was starting pitcher Dylan Cease.

The eighth-year right-handed starter earned a seven-year, $210 million contract from Toronto after a two-year stint with the San Diego Padres.

The Milton, Ga., native made his Grapefruit League debut for the Blue Jays in a 7-5 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

It was a mixed outing for the $210 million-man. He struck out three batters, issued a walk and allowed one earned run on one hit (a home run) in 1.2 innings of work. The one home run allowed by Cease was to Bryan De La Cruz.

What truly impressed in Cease's outing was the velocity he displayed.

Out of Cease's 33 pitches thrown, 18 were four-seam fastballs. He also displayed his slider, knuckle curve, sweeper and two-seam fastball (sinker) multiple times, respectively.

Cease averaged 97.4 miles per hour and touched 99 mph with his four-seamer against the Phillies, a slight uptick from his 2025 average of 97.1 mph. Five-of-eight whiffs generated by Cease was with his four-seam.

The two-seamer had an average of 97.2 mph on two offerings, which is up from his '25 average of 95.8 mph.

Two of Cease's strikeouts were with his four-seamer and one was with his two-seamer.

One of the batters Cease fanned was two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper. The former Padre sat down Harper with a 97.5 mph four-seamer that drew a swing-and-a-miss.

Despite the big contract signed by Cease this offseason, his statistics didn't look great on the surface last year with San Diego.

Cease posted a 4.55 ERA and struck out 215 batters in 168 innings pitched across 32 starts. It was the fifth-straight season Cease started more than 30 games.

Cease's high ERA raised some eyebrows, but his advanced statistics illustrate a potential elite level he can reach.

According to Baseball Savant, Cease had an xERA (expected ERA) of 3.46, a chase rate of 31%, a whiff rate of 33.4% and a strikeout rate of 29.8%. Those metrics ranked in the 74th percentile of baseball or better.

Cease was unable to find efficiency with his strikeout stuff. He had a walk rate of 9.8%, which ranked in the 20th percentile of baseball.

If Cease can find a level of efficiency and consistency, he'll likely prove himself worthy every cent of the $210 million the Blue Jays signed him to.

Cease is currently projected to begin the 2026 regular season as the No. 2 pitcher on Toronto's rotation, according to FanGraphs.

Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too