Dylan Cease pays respect to Padres after $210M Blue Jays move

Dylan Cease has chosen to sign for the Blue Jays ahead of the 2026 campaign. After two years in Southern California with the Padres, Cease has elected to continue his MLB career north of the border on a massive seven-year, $210 million deal.

The 29-year-old Georgia-native was traded to the Padres in 2024 in exchange for Jairo Iriarte, Samuel Zavala, Steven Wilson, and Drew Thorpe who went to the White Sox. In a recent post by the Padres, they thanked Cease for his services to the ball club. The pitcher then reposted this and returned the gratitude towards the team and its fans.

Cease shows his gratitude to the Padres before setting sail for the Blue Jays (@dylancease7/Instagram)

In his first season with the Friars, Cease finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting after posting a 14-11 record and a 3.47 ERA across 33 starts that is tied for the highest tally in MLB. This included a memorable no-hitter against the Nationals on July 25 at D.C. which was only the second-ever no-hitter in Friars history.

Although he struggled throughout the 2025 season after posting an 8-12 record with a 4.55 ERA, the Blue Jays might have seen Cease's upside in terms of his percentages. Per Baseball Savant, the starter is in the 95th pecentile in terms of whiff rate, 89th percentile in strikeout rate, and 80th percentile in chase rate.

In Toronto, Cease will feature alongside Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Jose Berrios, Trey Yesavage, and Eric Lauer as the team attempts a repeat trip and hopefully win the World Series this time around.

Blue Jays reach contract extension with president and CEO

In addition to futureproofing their squad in terms of talent, the Blue Jays' upper management has also decided to retain one of its most influential executives. On Friday, it was announced by Rogers Communications through a news release that Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro has been given a five-year extension.

Shapiro starated off his administrative career in 1991 with the then-Indians. In 2015, he was named as the Jays' president and chief exeutive officer and replaced Paul Beeston. Since then, the squad has seen relative success, leading the team to five postseason appearances under his leadership.

In addition, Shapiro was instrumental in assembling and polishing the Toronto squad that surprised many after winning its first AL pennant since 1993. For his stewardship success, he'll be given the next half decade to try and win capture the first World Series title for a Canadian team since the early 1990s.

Edited by Daniel Santiago