Blue Jays, Cease finalize 7-year, $210M contract

TORONTO (AP) — Dylan Cease and the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays finalized their $210 million, seven-year contract on Tuesday, the largest free-agent deal in team history.

A right-hander who turns 30 on Dec. 28, Cease went 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA in 32 starts this year for San Diego, striking out 215 and walking 71 in 168 innings. His 29.8% strikeout rate was third-highest among qualified pitchers, behind Detroit's Tarik Skubal (32.2%) and Boston's Garrett Crochet (31.3%).

Cease spent his first five years with the Chicago White Sox, going 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA in 2022 despite leading the major leagues in walks. He finished second in AL Cy Young Award balloting.

He was traded to the Padres in March 2024 and went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA that season, pitching a no-hitter and finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting. Cease is 65-58 with a 3.88 ERA and 1,231 strikeouts in 188 starts over seven big league seasons.

Toronto won the AL East for the first time since 2015 and came within two outs of its first World Series title since 1993, losing Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 in 11 innings.

Cease joins a rotation projected to include Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and José Berríos.

Chris Bassitt and 41-year-old Max Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who started Game 7 of the World Series, became free agents.

Cease turned down a $22,025,000 qualifying offer from the Padres, who receive an extra pick after the fourth round of the amateur draft in July.

Toronto forfeited its second- and fifth-highest picks, and its international signing bonus pool for 2026 will be reduced by $1 million.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB