Blue Jays Sign Cease to 7-Year, $210M Deal

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed starting pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract, marking the first major free-agent acquisition of the MLB offseason. The deal, reported by multiple sources and pending a physical examination, was announced on Wednesday and positions the 29-year-old right-hander as a key addition to the team's rotation following their American League pennant-winning campaign.

Cease, who turns 30 on December 28, joins Toronto after two seasons with the San Diego Padres. In 2025, he recorded an 8-12 mark with a 4.55 earned-run average over 32 starts and 168 innings, striking out 215 batters. Despite the uneven performance, he showed postseason promise with 3.2 scoreless innings in San Diego's National League Wild Card Series victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 2, though the Padres were eliminated in Game 3. Over his seven-year MLB career, spanning stints with the Chicago White Sox and Padres, Cease has compiled a 65-58 record, a 3.88 ERA, and 1,231 strikeouts in 188 appearances. He has finished in the top five of Cy Young Award voting twice, including second place in the American League in 2022 when he posted a 2.20 ERA for the White Sox.