The Toronto Blue Jays are attempting to retain their American League penant by stengthening their rotation with former San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease to a $210 million deal
20:03 ET, 26 Nov 2025Updated 21:38 ET, 26 Nov 2025
Dylan Cease is bringing his mustache to Toronto(Image: Getty Images)
The Toronto Blue Jays are signing free agent right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract in an effort to bolster their already-strong rotation. Cease, 29, spent the 2025 season with the San Diego Padres and finished with a 4.55 ERA in 168.0 innings.
The Blue Jays fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a hard-fought seven-game World Series despite missing starting pitcher Jose Berrios and having Chris Bassitt pitch out of the bullpen.
Cease, who finished second in the 2022 American League Cy Young race as a member of the Chicago White Sox, figures to join a 2026 Toronto rotation alongside Kevin Gausman, playoff breakout Trey Yesavage, Berrios, and Shane Bieber. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the deal.
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Cease’s ERA ballooned to 4.55 in 2025 — up from 3.47 in 2024 — despite his peripheral stats remaining similar. His 3.46 xERA and 3.56 (fielding independent pitching) barely rose from his 3.31 and 3.10 marks in 2024, respectively.
The 29-year-old with a big curveball has always been a strikeout pitcher: his 15.6 percent swinging-strike rate from 2025 ranked second in MLB, behind only American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
Trey Yesavage emerged as a future ace in the 2025 playoffs(Image: Getty Images)
Cease’s deal is the second-largest in team history, behind only the $500 million extension first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed earlier in 2025.
Shortstop Bo Bichette, currently a free agent, may top Cease’s contract if he returns to the Blue Jays.
For his career, the right-hander boasts a strong 10.9 strikeout/9 ratio. He came up as a prospect with the Chicago Cubs before he was flipped across town to the White Sox in the 2017 Jose Quintana trade.
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Despite his fluctuating performance — Cease was fantastic in 2022 and 2024 (finishing in the top 5 of Cy Young voting both times) and poor in 2023 and 2025 — he’s remained one of baseball’s most durable starters. In each of the last five seasons, he’s made at least 32 starts and pitched 165.2 innings.
Cease was sent from the rebuilding Sox to the Padres in the 2023 offseason in a package headlined by Drew Thorpe, acquired by San Diego months before in the Juan Soto trade.
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The Blue Jays are set to lose both Bassitt and Max Scherzer to free agency.
Ace Kevin Gausman just finished the fourth year of a five-year deal with the franchise.
The team may turn to free agency to improve its lineup. In addition to resigning Bichette, Toronto is reported to be interested in star outfielder Kyle Tucker.