How does one turn around the vibes of an entire country after coming two excruciating outs away from winning the World Series? How about by signing the best pitcher on the free-agent market?
Indeed, Dylan Cease is joining the reigning AL pennant-winners on a seven-year, $210 million contract that stands as the second-largest contract in franchise history at the time of signing.
Now armed with an elite rotation that features Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and José Berrios, the Toronto Blue Jays figure to be right back in the World Series mix in 2026. That unit alone is strong enough to power them through the AL East, and their high-powered offense should remain a team-wide strength, especially if Bo Bichette makes his way back to Canada on a similar contract. As such, it should be no surprise that the Blue Jays have received positive marks for their blockbuster signing.
Blue Jays receive “B” grade for Dylan Cease signing from ESPNEmpty heading
ESPN’s David Schoenfield assigned Toronto a B grade for their signing of Cease, citing the risk of handing out a $200 million contract to a pitcher entering his thirties as a reason as to why the grade isn’t higher.
“At a minimum, the Blue Jays get a solid middle-of-the rotation starter to go with Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios. The good version of Cease is a No. 2 starter who sometimes looks like an ace. If Bieber is healthy for the entire season and Berrios’ late-season elbow inflammation was just temporary, that’s a rotation that could be as good as any in the game. We knew the Jays were going to strike big this offseason. This might not be their only move of consequence,” the ESPN analyst wrote.
Even if Cease isn’t quite as good as he was in 2022 and 2024 when he finished top-five in Cy Young Award voting, he remains a consistently great pitcher. He has been worth at least 3.4 fWAR in every season since 2021, pitching at least 165.0 innings while making 32-plus starts every year. He’s durable and possesses elite stuff, as evidenced by his career 28.6% strikeout rate.
In the wake of losing both Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt this offseason, he’s exactly what the Blue Jays needed at the front of their rotation. He and Gausman should form a lethal 1-2 punch next season, and in the long term, Cease and Yesavage should be a nice duo to build around once Gausman and Bieber reach free agency following the 2026 campaign.
A “B” grade is probably a fair assessment given the size of the contract, but Cease can easily make that look foolish if he continues to dominate opposing hitters over the life of his new deal.
