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Right-hander Dylan Cease is joining the Toronto Blue Jays on the largest free-agent contract in franchise history.
The Blue Jays say Cease and the team have agreed to a seven-year deal worth $210 million US.
The deal was first reported last week.
Cease joins a terrific rotation with the reigning American League champions. He made his major league debut in 2019 with the Chicago White Sox and was 8-12 with a 4.55 earned-run average in 32 starts last season for the San Diego Padres. He struck out 215 batters (sixth in the majors) and walked 71 in 168 innings.
Cease has made at least 32 starts in each of the last five years.
Cease spent his first five years with the White Sox, including a 2022 season in which he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA despite leading the majors in walks. He finished second in AL Cy Young Award balloting.
After one more year in Chicago, he was traded to San Diego in March 2024 and went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA that season, pitching a no-hitter and finishing fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting.
Cease has also had five consecutive years with at least 214 strikeouts, which helps offset his penchant for walks.
One of the top free-agent pitchers on the market this off-season, he joins a Blue Jays outfit that won the AL East this past season and advanced to Game 7 of a thrilling World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 in 11 innings.
He’s tabbed to be a front-line starter in a rotation that will likely include Shane Bieber, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios. 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.
The deal surpasses George Springer’s six-year, $150-million pact with Toronto.
The six-foot-two, 200-pound Cease is 65-58 with a 3.88 ERA and 1,231 strikeouts in 188 starts over seven major league seasons.
He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round of the 2014 amateur draft out of Milton High School in Georgia. They traded him across town to the White Sox in July 2017 as part of a package that netted left-hander Jose Quintana.
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.
