Dylan Cease is ending his free agency and taking his talents north of the border. The right-hander reportedly is signing a huge contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
The deal is said to be for seven years and worth $210 million, which would be the largest contract Cease has ever put pen to paper for in his career in the big leagues thus far.
Here's more from Jeff Passan of ESPN, who noted that the deal is still pending a physical: “Right-hander Dylan Cease and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a seven-year, $210 million contract, pending a physical, sources tell ESPN. The defending American League champions get one of the best arms on the free agent market.”
Before agreeing on the contract with the Blue Jays, Cease played the last two seasons with the San Diego Padres. He started his big league career with the Chicago White Sox, with whom he spent his first five seasons in the majors.
This is the second notable move on the pitching front for the Blue Jays since falling short of winning the World Series title in the 2025 season.
The Blue Jays, who lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic, had already secured the services of pitcher Shane Bieber for at least one more year after he decided to pick up his $16 million option with the team for the 2026 MLB season.
Cease is turning 30 years old in December and is coming off a down season based on his superficial stats. During the 2025 campaign, Cease went 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.327 WHIP through 32 starts. However, he had a FIP of 3.56. In addition, his 33.3 percent strikeout rate was the sixth-best among qualified pitchers, according to FanGraphs.
