Aiming to build on the success of 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays have been hard at work bolstering their starting rotation. Their first big acquisition of the winter came in late November, as they signed starting pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal.
Speaking to Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae on Wednesday, Blue Jays manager John Schneider delivered his verdict on the move.
“He (Dylan Cease) is an interesting guy,” Schneider said (Timestamp: 1:34). He’s a very, very intriguing guy. Everyone know his stuff. I think (during) our initial interactions with him, he was very curious on how he can get better. When you have coaches that can help with that in a variety of different ways, I think he really started to get interested into what we were all about. The whole signing happened pretty fast. We had a Zoom call with him and (Cease’s agent) Scott (Boras). Within about a week of that call, we had agreed to terms, you know.
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“It seemed like, not only from a professional standpoint, somewhere he was really comfortable with. And the fact that we’re a good team (also helped). I think the city itslef kind of drew him in a little bit. With his personal side, his interests, his likes, I think he’s going to thrive in the city, and I think he’s going to really thrive with the coaches that we have. So, excited is an understatement because this dude’s already really good, and he has the opportunity to be even better.”
“It’s a nice fit” – former big leaguer backs Dylan Cease to enjoy success with the Toronto Blue Jays
On Dec. 1’s episode of “Hot Stove,” former big leaguer Harold Reynolds spoke about the Blue Jays’ aquisition of Dylan Cease. The infielder backed Cease to enjoy plenty of success with his new team.
“First off, I was like, that’s a lot of money, $210 million for Dylan Cease,” Reynolds said. “But, if you look deep into it, he’s healthy. This guy posts up, every start for the last five years. You may not be happy with the outings, but man, he gives you numbers.
“This guy’s a gamer. I think mechanically, his mechanics are so simple, he’s going to stay healthy for a lot of years to come. Watching what that pitching staff’s been able to do in Toronto, I think they can get a lot out of him. It’s a nice fit. (I think they have the best rotation) in the American League, yeah.”
After missing out on a championship in heartbreaking fashion in 2025, fans will be hoping the newly acquired Dylan Cease can help the Blue Jays go one better in 2026.
Edited by Raghav Mehta
