Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Slated for 25-to-30 pitches in BP
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Cease (hamstring) is throwing a bullpen session of 25-to-30 pitches Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Cease landed on the 15-day IL on Monday, so it's promising that he's already throwing a bullpen five days later. The hurler has been optimistic that he'll be able to return to the Blue Jays' rotation when first eligible, and a successful BP on Saturday would be a big step toward making that a reality. Depending on how the bullpen goes, Cease's next step could be either another BP or facing hitters, per Zwelling.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Set for bullpen session
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Cease (hamstring) is expected to throw a bullpen session this weekend, Ian Quillen of MLB.com reports.
The Blue Jays kicked off a four-game set in Baltimore on Thursday, and manager John Schneider indicated before it began that he was optimistic Cease would be able to get on a mound during the trip. A minimum-length stay on the IL is still possible for Cease, who suffered a mild hamstring strain May 24. Over his first 11 starts for Toronto, he's produced a 3.05 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 92:26 K:BB in 62 innings.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Lands on IL with strained hamstring
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The Blue Jays placed Cease on the 15-day injured list Monday with a mild left hamstring strain, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Cease had to be pulled from Sunday's outing versus the Pirates after tweaking his hamstring. The strain being deemed minor should give him a chance to return around the time he's eligible, but the Blue Jays will need someone to fill Cease's spot in the rotation for at least one turn.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Heading for MRI
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Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Pirates that Cease will undergo an MRI on his left hamstring, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
Cease (3-3) was dealt the loss after striking out eight batters and yielding two earned runs on four hits and one walk over 4.2 innings before exiting due to what the Blue Jays described as hamstring discomfort. Though Schneider said that early testing on Cease's hamstring has been positive, the Blue Jays will send the right-hander in for further imaging to get a better understanding of the severity of his injury. Once the results of the MRI are available, Toronto will decide if Cease will be able to make his next start or if he requires a stint on the injured list. Cease is tentatively lined up to make his next turn through the rotation Friday in Baltimore.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Tweaks hamstring Sunday
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The Blue Jays announced that Cease was removed from his start Sunday against the Pirates in the fifth inning due to left hamstring discomfort.
Cease struck out eight and allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk before being lifted with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. The Blue Jays will likely send the right-hander in for a more thorough examination to determine whether he's dealing with a hamstring strain, though the club hasn't yet indicated that he'll require an MRI. For now, Cease's availability for his next turn through the rotation Friday in Baltimore is in flux.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Exits early Sunday due to injury
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Cease was removed in the fifth inning of his start Sunday against the Pirates due to an apparent injury, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com He struck out eight and allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk across 4.2 innings.
Though the nature of Cease's injury isn't known, the right-hander was seen shaking out his legs while he was visited on the mound by manager John Schneider and the Toronto medical staff, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. After initially staying in the game following the visit, Cease threw just two more pitches before being lifted. His availability for his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next weekend in Baltimore, should become clearer once he's undergone further testing.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Yields two homers to Bronx Bombers
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Cease (3-2) took the loss against the Yankees on Tuesday, allowing five runs on four hits and four walk while striking out nine across five innings.
It was an up-and-down performance from Cease, who recorded six of his nine punchouts through the first three innings, striking out the side in the third. However, Cease issued three of his four walks over the next two frames and gave up all five runs on homers by Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice in the fourth and fifth, respectively. Cease had given up just one home run through his first nine starts of the season, and Tuesday was the first time he yielded two homers in a start since last Aug. 21. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which is lined up for this weekend at home against the Pirates.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Sharp again in no-decision
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Cease did not factor into the decision Wednesday against the Rays, allowing a run on three hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out nine.
While Toronto failed to take the lead until the 10th inning, leaving Cease with a no-decision, it was another excellent outing from the right-hander, who's now gone seven innings in each of his last three starts. Cease's ERA is down to 2.41 across nine starts (52.1 innings) with a 1.18 WHIP and 75 strikeouts, good for second most in the majors. He'll look to keep rolling his next time out, tentatively lined up for next week on the road against the Yankees.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Fans seven in victory
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Cease (2-1) earned the win over Minnesota on Saturday, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over seven innings.
Cease had a bit of a rough beginning to his outing, serving up a leadoff homer to Byron Buxton in the bottom of the first inning and giving up two more runs (one of which was unearned) in the second. He settled down from there but still trailed 4-3 following his seventh and final frame. However, Toronto's offense came through for the right-hander, putting up eight runs in the top of the eighth to line him up for the victory. Cease struck out seven and racked up 16 whiffs, and he's second overall in the majors this season with 56 punchouts over 38.1 frames. He's been an impactful starter for fantasy managers, complementing his big strikeout total with a 3.05 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Falters late in loss
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Cease (1-1) took the loss against Boston on Monday, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five batters over 5.2 innings.
Cease got through three scoreless frames before things unraveled for him. He gave up a run in the fourth, two more in fifth and another in the sixth before being pulled. The veteran righty induced a decent 13 whiffs, but his five punchouts were his fewest in a start so far this season. Cease still ranks second in MLB with 49 punchouts and has a 2.87 ERA through 31.1 innings, so the beginning of his Toronto tenure has been successful overall. His next start is projected to be a road tilt in Minnesota.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Lacks command in no-decision
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Cease did not factor into the decision in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the White Sox, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with six strikeouts over 4.1 innings.
Cease allowed a run via his own error in the first inning and two more in the third. He threw just 51 of 93 pitches for strikes despite generating a whopping 16 whiffs, exiting after a one-out walk in the fifth. While the 30-year-old is no stranger to inconsistency, it was an obvious step back from his 12-strikeout debut with the Blue Jays on Saturday. He's slated for a tough home matchup against the Dodgers next week.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: TOR-CWS postponed Thursday
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Cease won't start Thursday against the White Sox after the game was postponed to Friday due to a forecast of inclement weather in Chicago.
The Blue Jays are likely to push Cease and the rest of their rotation back a day as a result of the postponement, so the right-hander should still be lined up to start the series opener Friday.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Fans 12 in no-decision Saturday
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Cease didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 8-7 extra-innings win over the A's, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out 12.
Signed to a seven-year, $210 million contract this winter, Cease looked to be worth every penny in his Toronto debut as he fired 61 of 90 pitches for strikes and blanked the A's for five frames before running out of gas in the sixth. It's the most strikeouts in franchise history for a pitcher making his Blue Jays debut, breaking the record of 11 set by David Price in August of 2015. Cease will have plenty of motivation to stay locked in when he takes the mound for his next start, which lines up to come on the road next week against the White Sox -- the team he made his MLB debut with in 2019.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Blanks Tampa in final tuneup
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Cease struck out six over five scoreless innings Sunday, allowing three hits and two walks in a Grapefruit League game against the Rays.
The Blue Jays' big offseason signing fired 50 of 83 pitches for strikes in his final game of the spring. Cease has been impressive in camp, posting a 0.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB over 9.2 innings, and he'll head into 2026 looking for his sixth straight 200-strikeout campaign in his first season with Toronto.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Tinkering with changeup
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Cease has been working on changing the shape of his four-seam fastball and adding a changeup to his arsenal, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
The right-hander has always had premium raw stuff in his high-90s fastball, which averaged a career-high 98.1 mph in 2025, and plus slider, but his actual results have rarely matched the scouting reports. Adding a change or splitter could help improve his numbers against left-handed hitters -- last season with the Padres, Cease had a 4.00 K/BB and 31.4 percent strikeout rate against RHP, but just a 2.36 K/BB and 28.0 percent K rate against LHP. Until he begins using any new pitches in game action, however, there's no reason to expect something radically different than the pitch mix that saw him use his four-seamer and slider 83.1 percent of the time last year.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Lands with Blue Jays
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Cease signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Blue Jays on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Cease will join the reigning American League champions and further bolster a rotation that already features Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and top prospect Trey Yesavage. The 29-year-old Cease was fairly underwhelming this past season, finishing with a 4.55 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 168 regular-season innings. However, he's made at least 32 starts and struck out more than 210 batters every year since 2021, which helps to keep his fantasy appeal relatively high entering 2026.
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Padres' Dylan Cease: Strikes out eight in no-decision
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Cease allowed a run on six hits and two walks across five innings in a no-decision Wednesday against the Brewers. He struck out eight.
It was a strong performance from Cease, who held Milwaukee scoreless until Andrew Vaughn's two-out, RBI double in the fifth. Still, Cease only made it through five innings after throwing 100 pitches -- the right-hander only has one quality start in his last eight outings. Cease figures to finish the regular season at 8-12 with a subpar 4.55 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, although he also recorded 215 strikeouts across 32 starts (168 innings).
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Padres' Dylan Cease: Victorious against COL
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Cease (7-11) picked up the win Sunday against the Rockies, allowing one run on four hits and two walks across five innings. He struck out five.
Cease navigated Coors Field effectively, keeping the ball in the park and allowing just one extra-base hit -- a double to Orlando Arcia in the third inning. Sunday's outing snapped a streak of five consecutive outings allowing multiple runs. Cease hasn't pitched into the sixth inning in five straight appearances, and hasn't done so in eight of his last nine. Cease will carry a 4.71 ERA into his next projected start, which is scheduled to be a rematch with the Rockies next weekend.
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Padres' Dylan Cease: Fans seven in no-decision
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Cease allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven batters over four innings in a no-decision against Baltimore on Monday.
Both of the runs Cease allowed came on a Samuel Basallo single in the second inning. Though Cease was otherwise fine, he racked up 91 pitches through four frames and didn't take the mound for the fifth. On a positive note, the right-hander induced an impressive 18 whiffs and allowed fewer than three runs for the first time across his past four outings. Cease has been rocky over that span, posting a 7.02 ERA and 1.80 WHIP while completing five frames just once. He ranks fourth in the majors with 190 punchouts, but it's otherwise been a disappointing campaign for Cease, who carries a 4.81 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through 28 starts.
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Padres' Dylan Cease: No control in loss
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Cease (5-11) allowed five runs (three earned) on two hits and six walks while striking out two over 3.1 innings to take the loss Saturday versus the Dodgers.
Cease threw just 44 of 85 pitches for strikes. It wasn't all his fault, as a Jackson Merrill error in the second inning was responsible for two runs, but Cease's struggles to find the strike zone continue to be a concern at times. This is the second time in four starts he's walked five or more batters. On the year, he's at a 4.61 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 171:56 K:BB over 132.2 innings across 25 starts. Among qualified starting pitchers, Cease's 3.8 BB/9 is fourth worst in the majors, though his 11.6 K/9 is second-best. He's projected to make his next start at home versus the Giants, which is a favorable matchup for him to get back on track.
