The Toronto Blue Jays were a pretty well-rounded team last year, but perhaps starting pitching was a bit lacking. It’s not anymore. The Jays took their seven-game World Series defeat personally, helping kickstart free agency by spending big on a marquee starting pitcher: Dylan Cease.
Blue Jays add Dylan Cease in pursuit of World Series redemption
Generally speaking, getting back to the World Series a year after losing in it is hard. Just ask the New York Yankees. The last time a team lost the Series and then returned to it the next year was in 2017 and 2018, when the Los Angeles Dodgers lost two straight. The Texas Rangers lost two straight in 2010 and 2011.
It’s much more common for that team to fall flat on its face than return. There is such an emotional letdown that a rough season often ensues. The MLB playoffs are a crapshoot that hardly ever rewards the best team, so making it back is a major achievement that requires a lot of work.
Following a heart-shattering loss in Game 7, the Blue Jays are aiming to be one of those teams that achieves that feat, and they’re aiming to be the first team to redeem itself after losing since the Houston Astros in 2022. To start, they’re signing Dylan Cease.
They only have one major free agent: Bo Bichette. Whether he re-signs or not, the Blue Jays knew they needed to address pitching. It was far from a weakness, especially with rookie Trey Yesavage’s incredible breakout, but they had some older pieces that are either going to leave or are declining.
Kevin Gausman’s not the same ace he once was. Max Scherzer is a shell of himself, and he’s a free agent. Shane Bieber pitched well after coming off an injury, but he’s struggled to stay healthy. Jose Berrios isn’t the same pitcher anymore, either.
It all leaves a gaping hole atop their rotation, and a genuine ace is crucial to any playoff run. Sure, Gausman can probably hold that spot down for a little while longer, but it’s better to get ahead of that when the free agent class is so deep. Maybe Yesavage is going to take that role, but that’s placing a lot on the shoulders of a pitcher with less than five regular-season starts.
Enter Cease, a pitcher who has had some ups and downs but is immensely talented. When he’s on, he racks up strikeouts and shuts down opposing offenses. Consistency needs to improve, but when he’s on his game, there are very few pitchers who can outduel him. 2025 wasn’t a spectacular year for Cease, but he still posted 3.4 fWAR and an impressive 29.8% strikeout rate. For his career, he strikes out 28.6% of the batters he faces, and he’s recorded 21.0 fWAR in seven big-league seasons. The Blue Jays will want a higher ceiling, but 3.0 fWAR per year on average is really impressive. The floor for him with the Jays is still pretty high. It is going to cost them dearly, though. Cease is signed for seven years and $210 million, which, given the names in this class of free agents, might end up being a little bit of a bargain since Toronto jumped on it first.
Either way, the Blue Jays did two things with this move. First, they addressed a growing need and gave themselves an ace in a very competitive division. Second, they added a good amount of talent to a roster that was clearly very close to a World Series win, which should leave them as the favorites in the American League for the 2026 season.
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