Braves sportscaster argues why Dylan Cease is a safer bet than Michael King

Having spent the past two seasons together at Petco Park, both Dylan Cease and Michael King became free agents this winter.

Dylan Cease chose to take his talents elsewhere, signing a seven-year, $210 million deal with the reigning AL champions, the Toronto Blue Jays. Michael King, on the other hand, has chosen to stay put, re-signing with the Padres on a three-year, $75 million contract.

On Friday's episode of "Toronto Sports Rush," former big leaguer C. J. Nitkowski, who now works as a broadcaster with the Atlanta Braves, spoke about Cease and King's contracts.

Though the Blue Jays have invested significantly more in Cease, than what the Padres have in King, Nitkowski explained why going with the former was the "safer play."

"Risk-reward there, with Michael King," Nitkowski said (Timestamp: 15:00). "I like him. If you've ever watched him pitch, it is a live arm, and nothing is straight. You got to make sure you got a solid hands back there because you're not going to get that straight four-seamer that's in a spot that's easy to receive. There is a lot of upside there. When the Jays signed Dylan Cease, you know what you're getting. You're getting swing-and-miss. You're getting your starts every year. "Michael King has been through some injuries, and it was a very interesting contract that he signed with the San Diego Padres. Time will tell on that one (King's contract). I like them both. I think it's a little bit more the steadiness from Dylan Cease, it's the higher upside you get from Michael King. Even though (there's) more years and bigger risk and more dollars, Dylan Cease was probably the safer play, even at over $200 million."

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"I want to be with a team that has a chance to win every year" - Dylan Cease opens up on his decision to join the Blue Jays

On Monday's episode of the "JD Bunkis Podcast," Dylan Cease explained why he decided to join the Toronto Blue Jays.

"I had just essentially told him (Agent Scott Boras) that I want to be with a team that has a chance to win every year," Cease said (Timestamp: 56:48)."They don't have to even pitch me on that. You know, I know they can. They just almost did it." "And then I want to be I wanted a team that could develop me and help me be more consistent," he added. "I was really impressed with their pitching side of things and kind of what they had for me and what they thought I could improve on."

Dylan Cease in action - Source: Getty

Dylan Cease will take the mound in a Blue Jays uniform for the first time when Spring Training begins in February 2026.

Edited by Raghav Mehta