The Toronto Blue Jays are having a lost season in 2026. Heading into Monday’s slate of games, they are 46-53. That has them last place in the American League East, 10 ½ games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
They have had down years from a variety of players, namely Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Kevin Gausman to name a few.
The brightest spot on the team is someone who was not on that 2025 AL Pennant-winning team, that being right-handed starter Dylan Cease. The 30-year-old signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with Toronto over the winter.
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Cease has been lights out this MLB season. He has started 17 games, going 6-4, tossing 98 ⅓ innings and pitching to a 2.56 ERA. He has struck out 148 and walked 44.
The right-hander has always been a strikeout pitcher, posting at least a 10.5 K/9 in every season dating back to 2021. Cease has been especially effective this season due to higher ground ball rates and lower home run rates.
Ahead of the Blue Jays’ Monday game versus the Rays, MLB made a post on X about Cease. They gave him some heavy praise during his Cy Young campaign.
Despite having about 15-20 fewer innings pitched than his AL counterparts, Cease still leads in total strikeouts. His 13.55 K/9 leads MLB, even Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski and his triple-digit heat.
Cease’s contract with Toronto this offseason was originally met with some confusion from fans, due to his inflated ERA during some of his recent seasons. He had a cumulative ERA of 4.18 from 2023-25, perhaps numbers not worth the $210 million price tag.
The signing has turned into a great example of how the stat earned run average can be misleading. A couple of outings where Cease got knocked around and/or had some bad luck does not totally represent him as a pitcher.
The 30-year-old will make his first start since before the All-Star Break Monday against the Rays at the Rogers Centre, 7:07 p.m. ET.
