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In the last few days, the Blue Jays have managed to secure the services of Dylan Cease.
While it's easy to criticize the price paid to sign him ($30 million a year for seven years), it's understandable that he fits in with the Canadiens' needs.
Since 2020, Cease and Kevin Gausman have been Major League Baseball's most productive pitchers in terms of strikeouts. Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage are also capable of fetching Ks.
Then, since 2021, the three starting pitchers with the most starts are Cease, Gausman and Jose Berrios.
Dylan Cease's durability plays well in a Blue Jays rotation that now features three pitchers who've started at least 158 games since 2021.@Ken_Rosenthal with more on Toronto's splash move… pic.twitter.com/wPe5NlXPf8
– Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 1, 2025
It's a little easier to understand why the Blue Jays, who clearly have one type of pitcher in mind for the rotation (Cody Ponce is a good example), agreed to give Dylan Cease quite a bit of money.
He's a bit like Kevin Gausman 2.0.
.@jonmorosi compares the Blue Jays' reported signing of Dylan Cease to when the club signed Kevin Gausman back in 2021
Thoughts on the comparison? pic.twitter.com/zNx9EJMWNg
– MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 1, 2025
But it's worth remembering that Gausman, when he arrived in Toronto on the terms of a $110 million, five-year contract for the 2022 season, wasn't exactly the pitcher he became in Toronto.
The potential was there and he was excellent, but the Blue Jays put money on the table by projecting what Gausman could become if he pitched to the best of his ability.
And it worked. Over the past four years, Gausman has taken his game to the next level.
That's exactly what the club has just done again with Cease. The hope in Toronto is that he will find consistency (the pitcher's big challenge) to form, in the long term, a fiery duo with Trey Yesavage.
And the good news is that the main interested party is motivated.
According to Shi Davidi, who discussed the subject on the Foul Territory podcast, the player liked what he heard from the Blue Jays about how he could progress under Pete Walker. And so Cease is ready to do whatever it takes to get to the next level and become even more dominant.
“People say that he's immensely motivated, wants to be the best that he can be, and wants to fully tap into his ability.”
Part of Dylan Cease's ask to the Blue Jays was how they can help to make him a consistent front-of-the-rotation starter, says @ShiDavidi. pic.twitter.com/RGJjxTGZy2
– Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 1, 2025
Transaction rumours have been rife for Cease in recent years. Going for stability could clearly help him become a monster in Toronto.
That's what the Blue Jays will be banking on. And clearly, after giving him so much money, it's easy to believe that the Blue Jays like their chances of making Cease a machine.
This content was created with the help of AI.
