TORONTO — Two weeks ago, as Scott Boras held court on his way out of the GM Meetings, the powerful agent fielded a question about how the Toronto Blue Jays could better sell themselves as a baseball destination after their World Series run, and he suggested the club was already there.
“When you become a winning club, players take notice,” Boras said in response. “They have done so much with their ballpark, where we hear about how families are treated, where among all the players’ wives and families to note how that's done, it's become very much a model for other major-league teams. There are a lot of things along those lines in the player community which have drawn players to Toronto. And when you have talent, you have certainly the bright lights that go with it. So I think that everything about what they've done in the past couple of years has proven to reward them with that placement, to say that in the player community, Toronto is a winning franchise and I would strongly consider being part of that.”
Those are nice words that took on a realer meaning Wednesday when the Blue Jays and Dylan Cease, one of Boras’ most coveted free agents this winter, reached agreement on a $210-million, seven-year deal that’s pending a physical and includes deferred money, according to two industry sources.
Money, first and foremost, talks in free agency and that piece was definitely there as the Blue Jays made the kind of top-of-the-market strike they’d attempted unsuccessfully the previous two off-seasons. But pairing financial might with getting the baseball piece right, and showing that off during a playoffs people in the industry still want to discuss, may very well have helped them close the industry’s first contract of consequence this winter.
For the franchise, it’s a major accomplishment, as Cease’s agreement, once finalized, will be the second-biggest financial commitment in team history, even when factoring in the deferrals, trailing only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500-million, 14-year extension. In terms of free-agent signings, Cease’s deal shoots past George Springer’s $150-million, six-year contract while among pitchers, it dwarfs Jose Berrios’ $131-million, seven-year extension.
During that session a couple weeks ago, Boras suggested that the Blue Jays were aiming for such a move. He relayed how last year he met Edward Rogers, team owner Rogers Communications Inc.’s executive chair, “when he came to the Juan Soto meetings in L.A. and got a chance to learn about his history and how he built Rogers Communications and what his intentions were for the team.” (Rogers Communications Inc. also owns Sportsnet)
“To see him and the organization on the platform that they had this post-season gave them a feel of the reality — certainly something I've been saying for a while — that Toronto is one of the top four or five major markets in the major-leagues,” Boras added. “I think we'll see ownership commitment and every bit of behaviour to support and advance that thought.”
Cease offers more proof of concept.
Settling on terms ahead of American Thanksgiving — very early in baseball’s usually painfully slow market — puts the Blue Jays into a position of strength for the rest of the off-season, having made an elite add to their top priority area, the starting rotation.
They now have both time to let the market develop and an even more enticing platform to tempt others as they seek to strengthen their bullpen and remain in pursuit of Bo Bichette and consider Kyle Tucker, among other position-player targets.
Cease, who turns 30 next month, gives the Blue Jays a front-of-the-rotation calibre starter to pair with Kevin Gausman atop a staff also set to include Shane Bieber, followed by rookie sensation Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios, with Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis leading the depth options.
That’s a strong foundation from which to begin defence of their American League championship, while also putting in place a new rotation cornerstone for the foreseeable future, as both Gausman and Bieber are potential free agents after the 2026 season.
The right-handed Cease has long been a Blue Jays target, as they tried to trade for him both before and after the San Diego Padres acquired him in the spring of 2024, including as recently as last off-season. He was said to be impressed by the presentation, led by pitching coach Pete Walker and assistant Sam Greene, made to him and by the way they answered questions about how they could help him grow into a dominant No. 1.
Cease throws primarily two pitches, a fastball that averaged 97.1 m.p.h. last year and a slider that was missed 42.8 per cent of the time hitters swung at it, with a curveball, sinker and sweeper he uses sparingly.
That repertoire allows him to consistently miss bats at an elite level, as his strikeout rate of 29.8 per cent ranked in the 89th percentile and his whiff rate of 33.4 was in the 95th percentile. His hard-hit percentage of 37.5 was in the 72nd percentile, so he limits hard contact effectively, too, although his 4.55 ERA last season didn’t necessarily reflect that.
The Blue Jays, clearly, weren’t deterred by that gap between his underlying and actual numbers, as they value all of the above as well as durability, a specialty for Cease, who has made at least 32 starts and logged a minimum of 165.2 innings in each of the past five seasons.
Gausman has delivered that type of reliability over the course of the $110-million, five-year deal he signed that expires next fall, as did Chris Bassitt over the course of his just-completed $63-million, three-year deal.
The Blue Jays are trusting that Cease will continue to deliver similarly after having once again flexed in free agency, this time getting across the finish line.
