Welcome to Ceiling/Floor, where we break down a team’s transaction based on the best case scenario and the worst case scenario. Today, we’ve got Dylan Cease joining the AL Pennant winners.
BREAKING: The New York Post has learned Dylan Cease to Blue Jays. $210M, 7 years
— Jon Heyman (@jonheyman.bsky.social) November 26, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The Toronto Blue Jays have signed starting pitcher Dylan Cease to a 7-year, $210 million deal.
Ceiling
The Toronto Blue Jays could’ve chilled like so many other Finals teams love to do. The organization swimming in a pool of money from their World Series run—this is when owners get cheap again.
Injuries robbed Toronto of its full starting rotation—Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber spent most of the season on the injured list.
Dylan Cease started 32+ games in 5 straight seasons. A steady innings eater a team can expect to start every 5 days.
Cease’s 215 strikeouts for the Padres last season would’ve led the Blue Jays.
Cease joins a rotation that includes Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Shane Bieber and the rookie phenom who planted his flag in the postseason, Trey Yesavage.
Thinking about how we get a full season of Trey Yesavage in 2026 pic.twitter.com/F5KjJ4i3Ym
— Victor (@V1ctor_S1lva27) November 24, 2025
Toronto starts the 2026 MLB season with the best starting rotation in the division. Boston acquired Sonny Gray this week but the Blue Jays are stacked—their cup runeth over with starting pitching.
Ceiling/Floor: New York Mets Trade Brandon Nimmo To Texas Rangers For Marcus Semien
Floor
This is the biggest free agency contract in Toronto Blue Jays history. That’s a sentence begging to precede a description of futility, waste and struggle. How often do you read “the biggest contract in franchise history” followed by “and god damn, did he earn every penny of the deal”?
Dylan Cease is the 4th highest paid pitcher in baseball, making slightlyyyy less than Max Fried.
Last season, Cease recorded a 4.55 ERA, one of the worst of his career. After altering his slider to add more velocity, he became more hittable.
The Toronto Blue Jays gave a massive contract to a pitcher who only throws 2 pitches and one of those pitches is broken.
Opposing hitters slugged .374 against his slider last year.
Dylan, turning 30 years old, could be trending in the wrong direction with 7, long years of brutal outings loading.
This could be the post-World Series appearance move Blue Jays fans look back on as the death of their run, anchoring a chunk around the ankle of a declining asset, hindering any future moves as Cease needs his big ass paychecks on the 15th and 30th.
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think Dylan Cease helps Toronto get to the World Series. Or even better, reach out and send your Cease takes and I’ll tap in and write about it. Hit up ya boy on social media: Facebook. Twitter. Bluesky. Instagram.
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