The Toronto Blue Jays may need to keep their slim post-season hopes alive for Dylan Cease to return this season.

Prior to Sunday’s 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers, manager John Schneider told reporters that Cease was being scratched from Wednesday’s start against the Baltimore Orioles due to right shoulder fatigue. The club’s ace flew back to Toronto on Saturday to undergo an MRI, which will determine the severity of his lingering ailment.

Schneider also revealed that Cease had been managing this fatigue over the past few weeks — a direct correlation with the 30-year-old’s diminished fastball velocity that has trended downward since the start of August, resulting in a career-worst 93.6 m.p.h. average four-seam velocity Friday night in Texas.

The results of Cease’s MRI will determine whether he makes his final start of the regular season this weekend versus the Cincinnati Reds. But the Blue Jays aren’t expecting to receive an alarming update, as Schneider added.

Even so, the organization may opt to shut down their AL Cy Young candidate if they’re eliminated from post-season contention before the Reds visit Rogers Centre. At that point, it wouldn’t make any sense to risk further injury by having the right-hander pitch at significantly less than 100 per cent in his 2026 season finale.

Should the Blue Jays decide to hold him out, they’d be left without a starter for Friday’s series opener, similar to their current dilemma ahead of Wednesday’s finale in Baltimore. Barring consecutive bullpen days, their options for length at Triple-A would include Chad Dallas, CJ Van Eyk and John Klein, as well as Josh Stephan or Josh Winckowski — a duo not currently on the 40-man roster.

If Cease were to remain sidelined, though, it’d prevent him from making his 30th start of the campaign — ending his streak of at least 30 starts per season that began in 2021.

By pitching deeper into games as a Blue Jay, the ’26 All-Star has already surpassed last season’s innings total by a single frame, tossing 169 innings across 29 starts. It’s been a career year in the first season of his seven-year, $210 million contract, as he’s posted career-bests in FIP (2.55), strikeout rate (34.9 per cent), HR/9 (0.59) and fWAR (5.5).

Cease wanted to evolve into a dependable front-line starter when he inked his free-agent contract with Toronto last winter, and he’s certainly checked that box in Year 1.

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