When the Major League Baseball offseason began, it was quite clear that Dylan Cease was among the top overall players that were available when free agency opened.
Cease, along with Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez, were viewed as the top free agent starters available. The 29-year-old was the first to exit the open market by signing a seven-year, $210 million deal to join the Toronto Blue Jays.
Toronto wanted an ace-level talent, and Cease quickly became the target. On Tuesday, Cease spoke to the media for the first time as a member of the Blue Jays and revealed why he chose Toronto, as seen in a clip shared to X by Sportsnet.
“The biggest part really was being able to be a part of a championship team,” Cease told reporters. “Obviously, with the run last year, they’ve proven that they have championship-caliber players and obviously a good process, so, that was probably the No. 1 thing. And then from there, it was also how would they help me maximize and develop and basically reach my potential more often. That was important to me. That was probably the second-biggest consideration. It seemed from the get-go that it was going to be pretty inevitable.”
Cease spent the last two seasons with the San Diego Padres, but now will come over to the Blue Jays to help anchor the top of the rotation.
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