Dylan Cease is no longer scheduled to start the first game of the playoffs

On September 12, Dylan Cease was available to pitch. But John Schneider didn't call on him.

Instead, Cease pitched on September 13.

On September 18, Dylan Cease will be available to pitch. But once again, the plan is not to have him pitch on five days' rest.

John Schneider announced that his pitcher is instead scheduled to start Saturday's game (September 19) in Texas.

Even though the team has only four starting pitchers, it has still chosen to have Dylan Cease (and Jose Soriano, too) pitch on a six-day schedule. Soriano will pitch on the 20th.

Why? Because the team believes that its top pitchers need rest more than anything else right now.

And this is despite the fact that the race for the playoffs is in full swing and the team doesn't exactly have a surplus of starters.

Schneider wants to maximize his pitchers' starts. Cease is on track to be a Cy Young finalist, but his velocity has been dropping lately.

This also means that if the Blue Jays make the playoffs, Cease and Soriano might not necessarily be able to start Game 1 on September 29 under the current format.

But as the manager says, they have to qualify first. And that hasn't happened yet.

This would seemingly rule out the possibility of Cease starting Game 1 of a potential Wild Card series, but as John Schneider said, you've got to get there first … added rest may help Cease, who's physically fine but has been pitching with lower velocity lately https://t.co/i0HWJ6lbmM

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) September 15, 2026

After pitching on September 19, Cease would be eligible to pitch on the 24th, but the team has the day off. He'll likely pitch on the 25th… and the playoffs begin on the 29th.

As for Soriano, he's expected to pitch on September 20 and 26. And if the team makes the playoffs and gets swept in just two games, he might not get his chance in the playoffs.

One would imagine that the Blue Jays, who had a rotation lined up for the playoffs and could go with three starters, know what they're doing.

They must feel that rest is absolutely essential at this point in the season.

It's worth noting that if Trey Yesavage does pitch next Monday, as we hope he will, he could also start Game 162 of the season.

Would Max Scherzer be the starter for the first playoff game, if the team qualifies? Possibly, yes.

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