Cease signs largest free-agent contract in Blue Jays franchise history

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays just jolted the MLB offseason to life with a major statement, agreeing to terms on a seven-year, $210 million deal with right-hander Dylan Cease, the team officially announced on Tuesday.

This deal is the biggest free-agent contract in Blue Jays history, blowing past the six-year, $150 million deal signed by George Springer five years ago. Arguably the top pitcher on the market, Cease, who turns 30 in late December, gives the Blue Jays a top-of-the-rotation starter to build around while they chase the World Series title they fell so painfully short of just four weeks ago.

While Cease is not coming off his strongest season, posting a 4.55 ERA over 168 innings for the Padres, he possesses all of the traits worthy of this big swing from Toronto.

One of the game’s more durable starters, Cease has pitched more than 165 innings in each of the past five seasons, showing the same durability the Blue Jays have coveted greatly in past pitching splashes like Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt. Doing this with Cease’s upside and strikeout rates, though, is what makes this deal so appealing.

Cease has struck out 200-plus batters in each of those five seasons, good for a rate of 11.3 per nine innings. That’s right in line with Gausman’s peak season in 2023, but Cease has maintained that level along with his excellent velocity, averaging 97.1 mph on his fastball last season. Pair that with a slider that gives hitters fits and a deep arsenal beyond it, Cease is a dream project for Pete Walker and the Blue Jays’ coaching staff, who have shown an ability to take veteran starters and turn them up a notch.

What a dream start to the offseason this has been for the Blue Jays, who have quickly given fans a pair of bright, shining distractions from that Game 7 loss to the Dodgers. There’s still more to come, but after Shane Bieber picked up his $16 million player option earlier this month, the addition of Cease makes the Blue Jays’ rotation a juggernaut.

Behind Cease, who surely slots in as the Opening Day starter, the Blue Jays will have Gausman, Bieber, Berríos and rookie sensation Trey Yesavage, who was their breakout star of the 2025 season, shooting from Single-A to the World Series. This is one of the best rotations in baseball and the Blue Jays still have all offseason to pad their depth group, currently led by Eric Lauer. This is officially becoming an identity of this era of Blue Jays baseball: rock-solid rotations built on big-name veterans and big spending.

This is an aggressive contract, too, which represents the Blue Jays completely jumping the market before it even had a chance to unfold through the Winter Meetings in early December. The front office is sending a message to the rest of baseball that the Blue Jays’ trip to the World Series was not just a blip, it’s the new expectation.

This market offered plenty of other options, from Framber Valdez to Michael King, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suárez and others. The Blue Jays clearly identified Cease as “their guy,” though, and did not hesitate.

This deal is a major boost to the Blue Jays in 2026, but it’s particularly important to frame the value of this deal in '27 and beyond.

Gausman and Bieber are both free agents at the end of this coming season and Bieber, in particular, could cash in as one of the market’s top arms next offseason. Berríos has an opt-out as well, so the window on this group has been creaking shut and the Blue Jays could not leave themselves in a state of desperation one year from now. Instead, with Cease, they’ve landed a new star for this group to orbit around. If Yesavage is the pitcher everyone believes he’ll become, they’ll have a two-headed monster atop this group for years.

The offseason moves so quickly for teams coming off deep postseason runs. Roster deadlines and the Winter Meetings are all waiting right there, but the Blue Jays have matched the momentum and stormed into this winter. Already the talk of baseball for their run against the Dodgers, they’ll now be the talk of the Winter Meetings two weeks from now in Orlando, Fla.

The Blue Jays were so close to winning the World Series. An inch here or a play there and Toronto would still be basking in the glow of its first title since 1993. This organization has opened the offseason with a bang, though, and all of the momentum they’d built is roaring once again.