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Report: Blue Jays are one of several teams interested in Dylan Cease
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Photo credit: © Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jul 25, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 25, 2025, 04:55 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays need to find an elite starting pitcher.
That starting pitcher may come from an unlikely team, as the San Diego Padres are listening to offers on Dylan Cease. One of the teams that has an interest in him is the Blue Jays, according to both ESPN’s Buster Olney and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Cease hasn’t quite produced as a front-of-the-rotation type of pitcher this season for the Padres. In 113.2 innings pitched, the right-handed pitcher has a 4.59 ERA and a 3.58 FIP, with a 29.6 K% and an 8.6 BB%. That said, the 29-year-old is only a year removed from a season where he had a 3.47 ERA and 3.10 FIP in 189.1 innings pitched.
In 2022, with the Chicago White Sox, Cease had his best season, posting a 2.20 ERA and 3.10 FIP in 184 innings pitched, with a 30.4 K% and 10.4 BB%. For his career, Cease has a 3.85 ERA and 3.68 FIP in 961 innings pitched.
Cease is in the final season of team control, as he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. Throughout his career, he’s been incredibly durable, making 30 or more starts in four consecutive seasons. His ERA is elevated, but his fastball averages 97 mph and past seasons show signs of a great pitcher.
The Blue Jays are in dire need of a starting pitcher, as their 4.52 ERA is the seventh-worst in MLB and their 4.61 FIP is fifth-worst. Even since May 26, the date the Blue Jays turned their season around, their starting pitching has been lacklustre, as they have a 4.51 ERA (ninth-worst) and a 4.41 FIP (tied for the eighth-worst).
However, fitting a starting pitcher into the rotation is where it gets trickier. Of the five starters in the rotation, Eric Lauer seemed the obvious choice to remove from the rotation at one point, but after eight innings of one-run ball on Thursday, his ERA now sits at 2.61, by far the best among the five starters currently in the rotation.
The other four pitchers, José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and Max Scherzer, are all veterans and have earned a place in the rotation. That isn’t even mentioning that three of them have an ERA below 4.
They could turn to a six-man rotation in August, as the Blue Jays did something similar after acquiring Francisco Liriano from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. That does put a strain on their bullpen, as they’ll only have six relievers available until the roster expands in September.
It’ll be interesting to see what the team does come the July 31st trade deadline.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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