After Dylan Cease signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays last week, the details and deferrals of his contract were revealed.
Per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the deferrals in Cease’s contract “reduce the present-day value” to $184.6 million, or just under $27 million per season. He also received a $23 million signing bonus, which Rosenthal noted “will be taxed at a much lesser rate in Ontario than his salary.”
Cease was traded from the Chicago White Sox to the San Diego Padres in 2024 and had a strong first year following the trade. During the 2024 campaign, he collected a 14-11 record, a 3.47 ERA and 224 strikeouts in 33 starts.
He took quite a step back last year, however, posting an 8-12 record with a 4.55 ERA and 215 strikeouts before entering free agency. Despite a bit of a down year from Cease, he had plenty of interest in free agency and ultimately landed with the defending American League champions.
The deal with Cease continues a trend of the Blue Jays being unafraid to spend on quality pitchers. He will be the fourth pitcher in the starting rotation, joining Kevin Gausman, José BerrÃos and Shane Bieber.
Signing Cease also guarantees a talented arm will be in the rotation past 2026. Gausman and Bieber are both entering the final seasons of their respective contracts and will enter free agency if they don’t sign new deals before the end of the season.
Toronto, led by a high-paid star in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., went 94-68 and reached the World Series for the first time since 1993 last year. The Blue Jays are hoping to avoid another 30-plus year World Series drought, and that means be willing to have deep pockets to land players like Cease.