Dylan Cease went 11-6 with a 2.40 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 169 innings during his first season with the Toronto Blue Jays, and the right-hander is now a finalist for the MLB Players Association’s Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Cease posted those numbers over 29 starts and earned a spot on the American League All-Star team. His 12.7 K/9 rate led the AL, opposing batters hit just .180 against him, and he sits among 10 other pitchers with a complete game shutout this season.
Besides the MLBPA’s Outstanding Pitcher Award, Cease is also on the ballot for the AL Cy Young Award for how he performed this season.
Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
MLB.com’s final AL Cy Young Award poll in September put New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler in first place with 160 points, followed by Cease in second place with 126.
Toronto signed Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract, the largest free agent deal in franchise history. The move followed a 2025 season in which he went 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA for the San Diego Padres.
Cease has been a standout before. He finished second in the 2022 AL Cy Young Award voting with the Chicago White Sox and fourth in the 2024 NL voting with San Diego.
His 5.5 WAR this season is the second-highest mark of his career behind the 6.4 he posted in 2022. If he wins the award, it would cap a stellar first season in Toronto that has matched the price tag.
Toronto Blue Jays Essentials
- The greatest Blue Jays pitchers of all-time
- 5 best hitters in Blue Jays history
- The greatest Blue Jays shortstops of all-time
- 5 best outfielders in Blue Jays history
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s net worth, MLB salary, and bonuses
More on the Toronto Blue Jays
- MLB Makes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Announcement After 8th Blue Jays Season
- Blue Jays Facing Potential Ernie Clement Decision After Jazz Chisholm Jr. Report
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Career News Announced After 8th Blue Jays Season
- Blue Jays Make Kazuma Okamoto Announcement After 1st MLB Season
