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Blue Jays: The ramifications of signing Dylan Cease
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Photo credit: © David Frerker-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Nov 26, 2025, 19:30 ESTUpdated: Nov 26, 2025, 19:20 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays got their guy.
Out of the blue on Wednesday evening, numerous sources reported that the Blue Jays have signed Dylan Cease.
With the deal, their rotation is all but locked, as it will feature Cease, Shane Bieber, José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, and Trey Yesavage. There are also a handful of other options on the 40-man roster, like Ricky Tiedemann, Adam Macko, and Lázaro Estrada.
Time will tell if they tinker with their rotation at all, but there are some additional ramifications with this signing. Since Cease declined his qualifying offer, the Blue Jays have forfeited their second-round and fifth-round picks in the 2026 draft. Additionally, the Jays have lost $1 million in International Free Agent Signing Bonus pool money.
If rumours are to be believed, the Jays are also interested in Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz. Assuming the Blue Jays sign another player with a declined qualifying offer attached, they’ll also lose their third-round and sixth-round picks since they also declined their qualifying offer.
Another ramification, albeit positive, from this signing is the fact that the Blue Jays now have at least two starters under contract for the 2026 season. Cease is under contract for seven more years, while Yesavage is under team control until 2031.
Bieber and Gausman are set to become free agents at the end of the season, while Berríos can opt out after 2026 as well. The 2026/27 free agency class is rather weak, so going big for free agent starting pitching this year was always the way to go.
There’s a good argument that Cease, 29, was the best free agent starter on the market. Just like Berríos, the right-handed pitcher is incredibly durable, making 32 or 33 starts in his past five seasons. Only six pitchers have logged more innings than Cease since 2021, and two of them (Gausman and Berríos) pitch for the Jays.
Don’t let Cease’s 4.55 ERA fool you; he’s a terrific pitcher and could be their Opening Day starter. Over 168 innings pitched, Cease’s fastball averaged 97.1 mph, allowing him to strike out 29.8% of the batters he faced, while having a slightly elevated 9.8 BB%. Along with allowing 21 home runs (1.13 HR/9), Cease posted a 3.56 FIP.
With a strong Blue Jays’ defence behind the 29-year-old, the Blue Jays got themselves an ace.
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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