Breaking: Dylan Cease & Blue Jays Agree To Seven-Year Contract

The Toronto Blue Jays are signing right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease for $210 million over seven years. 

That’s right, the first big splash of the offseason belongs to the Blue Jays.

You don’t have to squint to see what made the Jays so eager to jump the gun on Cease’s market. The 29-year-old has some of the best stuff amongst starting pitchers in the game. His four-seam fastball averaged 97.1 miles per hour in 2025, the sixth-best mark among qualified starters, which factored into his 29.8 strikeout percentage, the third-best among starters.

Cease induced a 31 chase percentage and an even more impressive 33.4 whiff percentage.

He’ll throw that big heater at the top of and above the zone, while pairing it with a nasty slider down and away to righties, and down-and-in to lefties.

Cease is usually looked at as one of the rare two-pitch starting pitchers, as he throws the heater and slider 41% of the time each, but he also mixes in a slower, more 12-6-style curveball, a sinker, a sweeper, and the very occasional change-up.

This article is led with talk about stuff for a reason, because it’s hard to believe a starter coming off a season with a 4.55 ERA, just earned a seven-year contract worth over $200 million. The concern for the ERA is somewhat validated by the fact that it was also 4.58 in 2023.

The inflated ERA is a little tricky to diagnose, although Cease did walk a pretty high 9.8 percent, and his 1.13 HR/9 allowed were his highest since the shortened 2020 season. It’s also worth noting that the xERA and FIP were in much healthier places last season at 3.46 and 3.56, respectively.

None of that scared the Blue Jays, though, as they’ll slide Cease into the Jays’ rotation as the number one starter ahead of a rotation that already includes Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and José Berríos, which should shape up as one of the more exciting starting fives in baseball.

It’s still early to say how getting this deal done will impact the rest of the Blue Jays’ offseason plans, and whether or not the hefty price tag will take them out of or limit them in their pursuit of free agent hitters like Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette. Still, the Blue Jays are making a statement early in the offseason, acquiring a premier starting pitcher.

The $210 million over seven years is a fair bit above the $145 million over 5 years Cease was projected to make, according to ESPN, although Cease is clearly in the top three or four free-agent starters. Ken Rosenthal is also reporting that the deal does include deferrals.

Coming off of their best season in 32 years, the Blue Jays look like their eager to build on the success of 2025.