Dylan Cease Lands a 7 Year $210M Deal With The Blue Jays As Toronto Makes The First Major Free Agency Splash Of The Offseason

Sean M. Haffey. Getty Images.

You never know how an MLB offseason is going to move. Unlike the NBA and NFL, there isn't one night where all of the deals flood in. That's a big thing baseball is missing because for those other sports, it's borderline a holiday on those days for the fans. You've got no idea when shit is going to pop off with baseball. Sometimes guys wait until January and drag everything out. Others just want to get shit over with before Thanksgiving and enjoy the holidays. Thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays, Dylan Cease can do that while bathing in a boat load of cash. Ladies and gents, we have our first major offseason splash. 

So the first obvious reaction is holy fucking shit the Blue Jays gave Dylan Cease how much money? And guess what? That's my reaction as well. For years I've never understood the hype behind Cease. Great strikeout stuff sure, but where are the results? When I think of Dylan Cease, frustration comes to mind. He should be better than he is, but instead he has this addiction to nibble in the zone, chase strikeouts, and watch his pitch count climb early. It feels like he always has 95 pitches in the 5th inning and you gotta go to your pen early. 

Are there positives with Cease? Definitely. For starters he does not miss time. Since the start of 2021 he's averaged 32 starts a year. If you're shelling out a seven year contract you need that guy to be durable. That's Dylan Cease without question. There are also these tidbits that highlight his value. 

The problem is consistency. His last four years ERA totals? 2.20, 4.58, 3.47, and 4.55. The ERA+ in those four years (100 being league average)? 180, 97, 118, and 94. His FIPs are typically in good shape, which points that he's getting worse results than he deserves. So there's a very good pitcher inside him, but it's yet to show its head over a long stretch of time. 

Is that worth $210M over 7 years? Usually a big name pitch goes off the market and I'm upset the Yankees didn't get him. That's just not the case here. Maybe the Blue Jays can unlock him and make him that bonafide ace, but I'm content facing him rather than having him on my team in a big game. I could be wrong, his stuff definitely is nasty and generates a ton of whiffs, I'd just rather someone else have him. 

What this signing screams is that Toronto is not content with just making the World Series. Overpay sure, but they're clearly ready to open up the checkbook and keep pushing. Their fans should be ecstatic that this aggression is coming out of them early in the offseason. They're reportedly now targeting a high end reliever which is something they desperately need to land. Bringing back Bo Bichette is also high up on the priority list. Toronto isn't going anywhere. 

The stove is hot!