Blue Jays Sign Dylan Cease To Massive $210 Million Deal
The Toronto Blue Jays made the first big free agent signing of the offseason.
Toronto reportedly signed starting pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman. ESPN’s Jeff Passan later confirmed the signing.
Cease is coming off a down season with the San Diego Padres as the right-hander went 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA in 32 starts. However, the 29-year-old pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in the playoffs against the Chicago Cubs. In his MLB career, Cease is 65-58 with a 3.88 ERA in 188 games.
Cease now joins a Blue Jays rotation that features Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios.
Toronto lost in Game 7 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers and entered the offseason with expectations to spend money. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins also hinted at the team adding some pitching help.
“Honestly, you’re not going to love my answer,” Atkins said to the media, via MLB.com. “But (the objective) is just to get better. Fortunately, we have some flexibility, and we’ll be open to making our team better any way we can, and pitching is important.”
Cease has twice finished in the top five of Cy Young Award voting, including being the American League runner-up in 2022.