Cease joins Toronto for $210 million. Now, Chicago must pivot, exploring trade options for a top-tier starter after missing out.
The Chicago Cubs were reported to be in on free agent pitcher Dylan Cease this offseason. Back in October, Marquee Sports Network Insider Bruce Levine believed that the Cubs were going to be a top suitor for the hard-throwing right-hander.
Well, the Cubs can officially cross him off their wish list.
It was reported on Wednesday evening that Cease signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. This contract reportedly includes deferrals and will run through the 2032 season.
While signing Cease would have been a big move for the Cubs, there was no way the front office was paying him that much money over the next seven seasons. This is a franchise that has never given out a contract worth more than $184 million.
So, the Cubs were never going to land Cease. And maybe it’s for the better.
Chicago likely had to dip into the $200 million range to even be in the running for Cease, and that feels like a slight overpay for a pitcher who has been inconsistent in recent seasons. He has finished with an ERA over 4.50 in two of the past three years.
The bad news with this Cease signing is that it’s now hard to imagine a world where the Cubs land either Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez.
With Cease receiving a $200-plus million contract, both Valdez and Suarez will likely command money somewhere in that range in free agency. If we know anything about the Cubs, they will not be offering that kind of money to any pitcher.
That means the Cubs’ best opportunity to land a top-of-the-line starting pitcher this offseason could come via the trade market.
The front office has certainly not shied away from adding impactful players in the trade market over the past few offseasons. They traded for Michael Busch before the 2024 season and then made a splash by acquiring Kyle Tucker in a blockbuster deal before the 2025 season.
Considering the potential price of the remaining top free agent pitchers, Jed Hoyer could get creative in adding a No. 1 or No. 2 starter to this rotation. Pitchers like Joe Ryan, Sandy Alcantara, or MacKenzie Gore could be one of the pitchers the North Siders go after this winter.
At the end of the day, the Cubs were never going to give Cease a seven-year, $210 million deal. That is definitely out of their price range -- even though it shouldn’t be -- and the front office must now pivot to acquire another top-of-the-line starting pitcher someway somehow.