The Toronto Blue Jays made a massive free agent splash Wednesday evening, agreeing to a deal with pitcher Dylan Cease on a seven-year, $210 million contract, according to multiple reports.
Right-hander Dylan Cease and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a seven-year, $210 million contract, pending a physical, sources tell ESPN. The defending American League champions get one of the best arms on the free agent market.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 26, 2025
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports the deal is pending a physical. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the deal includes deferrals.
Cease, 29, was 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA last season for the San Diego Padres, striking out 215 batters over 168.0 innings pitched.
While Cease’s ERA was on the high side, his 3.56 FIP (fielding independent pitching) was a full run below his ERA, indicating Cease’s performance was better than his ERA showed. His .323 batting average in balls on play against (.323) was also well above league average (2.91) and his home runs per nine innings (1.1) were also right at his career average.
The season before, Cease had a 3.47 ERA with 224 strikeouts in 189.1 innings pitched and finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting.
As things stand right now, Cease will slide into a Blue Jays starting rotation featuring Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios. Left-hander Eric Lauer, who started 15 games last season and had a 3.18 ERA, is also back for 2026.
A native of Milton, Ga., Cease began his career with the Chicago White Sox and spent five seasons on the South Side before arriving with the Padres in a multi-player deal in March of 2024.
In seven big-league seasons, Cease owns a career ERA of 3.88.
