Breaking Free Agent Signing: Blue Jays Sign Top Pitcher

The Toronto Blue Jays have been linked to a few of the biggest names on the free agent market this winter, and now they've managed to pull off their first big signing of the offseason, landing starting pitcher Dylan Cease on a seven-year deal.

BREAKING 🚨 The Blue Jays are signing Dylan Cease to 7-year, $210M deal per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/pAjX5eYYAT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 26, 2025

The total value of the contract is $210 million, giving Cease a $30 million annual stipend. He was one of three front-line starters on the market, along with Framber Valdez and incoming Japanese import Tatsuya Imai.

Cease has nasty stuff and a big fastball. He also throws a dominant slider and is a strikeout machine. He has the second-highest K rate in the majors since 2021. He's struck out well over 200 batters a season for the last five years, and he has two Top-4 Cy Young finishes in the past four years.

On the downside, Cease can be inconsistent due to occasional command issues; he walks close to four batters per nine, and recorded his second 4.50-plus ERA this season in the past three years. But he is extremely durable (at least to this point), having made at least 32 starts and throwing over 165 innings every season since 2021.

In the 30-year-old, the Jays likely see those flashes of ace potential.

In a seven-year career, he has a 3.88 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP and averages 10.9 K/9.

The first massive free agent deal (aside from Josh Naylor re-signing with Seattle) is in the books. Let the rest of the signings begin...