At the All-Star Break of the 2026 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays do not find themselves in the most savory spot. They are 45-51, last place in the American League East and 12 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
The team has a lot of ground to cover over their final 66 games of the regular season. That upcoming stretch will feature 26 games (eight series) against AL East opponents.
One of the bright spots on the roster this year has been newly signed right-handed starting pitcher Dylan Cease. He signed a seven-year, $210 million pact with the club this winter.
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In 17 starts this season, the right-hander has tossed 98 ⅓ innings. He is 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA, striking out 148 and walking 44. That strikeout rate of 36.9% is second among qualified starters only to the Milwaukee Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski.
Those numbers earned Cease not only his first All-Star nod of his career, but the start for the AL in the All-Star Game. He only got to throw the first inning, but struck out the side. Cease got Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto and CJ Abrams all swinging.
Having pitched in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, the starter will not be available for the Blue Jays’ first series out of the break against the Chicago White Sox. Instead, he will tentatively make his first start of the second half against the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Monday at 7:07 p.m. ET.
Cease’s last start for Toronto came on July 8 at the San Francisco Giants. With only one inning pitched between that and his upcoming Rays start, the 30-year-old will be well-rested.
Rookie Spencer Miles will get the ball on Friday against the White Sox. The reliever-turned-starter has thrown 60 innings this season, compiling a 4-1 record with a 2.85 ERA. He has struck out 57 and walked 19.
The Blue Jays are hoping that the roster can stay healthy through the second half after a rocky first half health-wise. They will lean on Cease, who has been an iron man throughout his career.
