The Toronto Blue Jays have officially put pen to paper on their first big move of the off-season.
Starter Dylan Cease is joining the team on a $210-million, seven-year deal, the Blue Jays announced on Tuesday.
The deal, which is the richest contract handed by the Blue Jays to a pitcher, was first reported on Nov. 7 and includes deferred money, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported.
Cease’s deal is the second-biggest financial commitment in team history, even when factoring in the deferrals, trailing only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500-million, 14-year extension. It is the largest free-agent signing in team history, moving ahead of George Springer’s $150-million, six-year contract.
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The 29-year-old had an 8-12 record and a 4.55 ERA last season with the San Diego Padres, while also recording 215 strikeouts over 168.0 innings pitched.
Cease gives the Blue Jays a front-of-the-rotation calibre starter to pair with Kevin Gausman atop a staff also set to include Shane Bieber, followed by rookie sensation Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios, with Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis leading the depth options.
He throws primarily two pitches, a fastball that averaged 97.1 m.p.h. last year and a slider that was missed 42.8 per cent of the time hitters swung at it, with a curveball, sinker and sweeper he uses sparingly.
That repertoire allows him to consistently miss bats at an elite level, as his strikeout rate of 29.8 per cent ranked in the 89th percentile and his whiff rate of 33.4 was in the 95th percentile. His hard-hit percentage of 37.5 was in the 72nd percentile, so he limits hard contact effectively, too, although his 4.55 ERA last season didn’t necessarily reflect that.
The right-handed Cease has long been a Blue Jays target, as they tried to trade for him both before and after the San Diego Padres acquired him in the spring of 2024, including as recently as last off-season. He was said to be impressed by the presentation, led by pitching coach Pete Walker and assistant Sam Greene, made to him and by the way they answered questions about how they could help him grow into a dominant No. 1.
