Dylan Cease has catastrophic stats against the Red Sox and Yankees

As recently as late yesterday (Wednesday), the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a whopping $210 million for pitcher Dylan Cease, a gunner with an earned-run average of 4.18 in his last three seasons, worse than any starting pitcher in the middle of the rotation.

For the right-hander to initial this pact on November 26, it's safe to assume that no Major League Baseball team wanted to go anywhere near those numbers.

Certainly, Cease is durable, having made 32 or 33 starts five years in a row, while throwing 97 MPH. What's more, he's a top-level pitcher when it comes to swinging for the fences (95th percentile for strikeout rate).

So yes, Cease has a good arm. But he'll have to improve on something now that he's in the Eastern Section of the American League.

What are we talking about? His atrocious stats against the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, when Cease posted earned-run averages of 5.34 and 6.04 respectively against his new division rivals.

Dylan Cease has a career 6.04 ERA against the Red Sox and 5.34 ERA against the Yankees.
– Welcome to the AL East.

– JS (@J_Styborski) November 27, 2025

Another area for improvement will certainly be his control, including initiating his opponents' presences with a catch. Cease doesn't forward the strike zone enough and wastes a very large number of non-competitive throws.

Last season, the 29-year-old led the league in strikeout rate while posting a 4.55 earned run average. One wonders how this is possible. It was the second-worst earned run average in history for a qualified pitcher, with an average of 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. We salute Matthew Boyd.

It now remains to be seen whether Cease can turn the tide in these areas.

This content was created with the help of AI.