Baseball

Did the Blue Jays really overpay Dylan Cease?
Sébastien Berrouard
Did the Blue Jays really overpay Dylan Cease?
Credit: Newsweek

After failing to land a big free agent in the past – Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto come to mind – the Toronto Blue Jays have finally landed a big fish in the ocean of free agents. Dylan Cease is certainly not in the same class as the two aforementioned protagonists, but the fact remains that he was one of the three best starting pitchers available this winter.

And to get there, the Blue Jays had to dig deep into their pockets, with Cease initialing a massive seven-year deal worth $210 million.

This is the largest free agent contract in Blue Jays history, surpassing their six-year, $150 million deal with George Springer. It's also the biggest investment ever made for a pitcher, although it pales in comparison to the historic $500 million extension given to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

But the question remains: did he really deserve all that money?

Cease is now one of the highest-paid pitchers in Major League Baseball history, while among all-time pitchers, his contract ranks seventh in average annual value ($30 million) and fifth in total value.

The 29-year-old will earn more annually than Max Fried and Garrett Crochet, both of whom are better and more consistent than Cease, with Captain Crochet even several years younger.

Crochet, however, signed before becoming a free agent, which makes a difference.

That's a lot for a player with a record of 29 wins against 32 losses and a 4.18 earned run average over the last three seasons combined. What's more, he's never won a playoff start and has an 8.74 earned points average in the fall dance.

Not to mention his inconsistency, with his earned run average fluctuating by at least one point over the last five campaigns, between 2.20 and 4.58. That's not just a little oscillation. Cease has only had one season in seven years when he played like an ace pitcher, and that was in 2022. Since then, his earned run average has hovered around four.

And yet, Cease will receive a Hall of Fame-level salary even as he enters his 30th season. Now it's up to him to prove his detractors wrong.

In any case, money is no object in Toronto. But if it were to prevent Kyle Tucker from landing in town, or Bo Bichette from returning to the Ontario metropolis, Cease's contract would look even worse.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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