2025 Blue Jays Offseason Thread

[LoveMyRaps]

My overall grade for the Cease is B+

I like the player, the upside, the durability, the deferrals.

However, not the biggest fan of the length of the contract. 7 years is a big time commitment. High risk, high reward type of contract. IF he excels, this will be a massive homerun. If he struggles or regresses, we'll be stuck with his contract.

Also makes me very excited that it's Pete Walker that pushed for Cease and believes he can turn him back into a bonafide ace.

[WuTang_CMB]

oh baby

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[LBJKB24MJ23]

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so dude wants to be our 6th starter?

I'm down for a 6 man rotation if it helps the old guys pitch on extra days rest.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

My overall grade for the Cease is B+

I like the player, the upside, the durability, the deferrals.

However, not the biggest fan of the length of the contract. 7 years is a big time commitment. High risk, high reward type of contract. IF he excels, this will be a massive homerun. If he struggles or regresses, we'll be stuck with his contract.

Also makes me very excited that it's Pete Walker that pushed for Cease and believes he can turn him back into a bonafide ace.

They have already tried trading for him in the past. they want this guy and Pete Walker knows he can fix him. thats why they dished out the money for this guy.

[LLJ]

The durability is probably the biggest selling point for me with Cease. Performance can go up and down with pitchers but there's nothing worse than investing in a pitcher and then he gets injured and his velocity goes to crap and is soon out of the league.

Of course I wouldn't be surprised if that Jays bad luck with pitchers rears its ugly head again here.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

The durability is probably the biggest selling point for me with Cease. Performance can go up and down with pitchers but there's nothing worse than investing in a pitcher and then he gets injured and his velocity goes to crap and is soon out of the league.

Of course I wouldn't be surprised if that Jays bad luck with pitchers rears its ugly head again here.

dude you can say that about any team and their signings

Jays had some good ones too. Gausman, Kikuchi, Bassitt, Ryu, Ray.

they got over the negative stigma of Boras clients and I'm sure Boras has the ears of the Jays FO.

[LLJ]

The durability is probably the biggest selling point for me with Cease. Performance can go up and down with pitchers but there's nothing worse than investing in a pitcher and then he gets injured and his velocity goes to crap and is soon out of the league.

Of course I wouldn't be surprised if that Jays bad luck with pitchers rears its ugly head again here.

dude you can say that about any team and their signings

Jays had some good ones too. Gausman, Kikuchi, Bassitt, Ryu, Ray.

they got over the negative stigma of Boras clients and I'm sure Boras has the ears of the Jays FO.

I think with this contract the consequences of a sudden velocity decline would be more costly because of how long it is and how big it is. With Gausman or Ryu those were more "normal" contracts.

[bartron_44]

People need to start learning to accept victories when they come.. lol This is MASSIVE! A+ all the way

They now have:

Bieber
Cease
Gausman
Yesavage
Berrios

With Lauer as their 6th starter.

Now, imagine they sign Edwin Diaz ( top available closer) and Kyle Tucker ( top available OF).


They could actually stop right there and be golden with just those 3 studs.

Then if guys like Scherzer, Bassitt and Bichette want to “run it back”… Im sure they could find room for them too

[COY0607]

My overall grade for the Cease is B+

I like the player, the upside, the durability, the deferrals.

However, not the biggest fan of the length of the contract. 7 years is a big time commitment. High risk, high reward type of contract. IF he excels, this will be a massive homerun. If he struggles or regresses, we'll be stuck with his contract.

Also makes me very excited that it's Pete Walker that pushed for Cease and believes he can turn him back into a bonafide ace.

I think that’s a fair grade given the context.

I initially graded this more as a C+ because I was comparing it to the Burnes and Fried contracts, they got comparable money but are comfortably better pitchers.

But Jays were in the Burnes/Fried market last year and couldn’t get it done. Maybe if they had overpaid by $20-30m they would’ve gotten one of those guys.

That’s exactly what they’ve done here. They’ve overpaid by $20-30m, but finally got their pitcher. And Cease is arguably the best SP this offseason, you overpay a little for that.

[COY0607]

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so dude wants to be our 6th starter?

I'm down for a 6 man rotation if it helps the old guys pitch on extra days rest.

They may be more careful with Ysevage in 2026, especially early in the year if they want to save him for a post season run later on

He may be on a pitch / inning count at some point. Makes getting a bonafide 6th starter even more crucial

[Randle McMurphy]

First big sign that the Jays are going all-in this offseason, which they absolutely should be doing.

Cease easily had the best stuff of any FA pitcher on the market, I bet they think they can get even more out of him.

Crochet who is arguably the best pitcher in MLB, signed a 6 year 170 million deal with Boston last year. I like Cease, but 6 years in the 150 million range was my max for him.

Talk about an overpay for a guy whose numbers are nowhere good as Crochet. That is what this front office does best. Overpay for players like Santander, Gimenez, and now Cease.

We overpaid Cease by 4M per and 1-2 year in length. But there is no salary cap and we got an ace - that's a lot better than overpaying fringe players like Tanner Roark, Chad Green, Santander etc.

We overpaid Russell Martin too back in the 2015-2016 run, and it was definitely worth it.

They overpaid Vlad too with probably the most ridiculous contract ever given to a MLB player. Don’t see too many criticizing it after that postseason run of his.

In any case, money clearly isn’t a concern for Rogers at this point and they have become finally willing to spend a ton of it.

[Randle McMurphy]

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so dude wants to be our 6th starter?

I'm down for a 6 man rotation if it helps the old guys pitch on extra days rest.

Yesavage won’t pitch a full season and they’ll be cautious with Bieber, so they will likely add another SP. Whether that is Scherzer probably depends on how steep a pay cut he’s willing to take. He’s not getting 16M out of us again.

[DelAbbot]

Crochet who is arguably the best pitcher in MLB, signed a 6 year 170 million deal with Boston last year. I like Cease, but 6 years in the 150 million range was my max for him.

Talk about an overpay for a guy whose numbers are nowhere good as Crochet. That is what this front office does best. Overpay for players like Santander, Gimenez, and now Cease.

We overpaid Cease by 4M per and 1-2 year in length. But there is no salary cap and we got an ace - that's a lot better than overpaying fringe players like Tanner Roark, Chad Green, Santander etc.

We overpaid Russell Martin too back in the 2015-2016 run, and it was definitely worth it.

They overpaid Vlad too with probably the most ridiculous contract ever given to a MLB player. Don’t see too many criticizing it after that postseason run of his.

In any case, money clearly isn’t a concern for Rogers at this point and they have become finally willing to spend a ton of it.

I predict 1 month into next season before Grounderro makes a comeback

[cHiNoz]

Blue Jays World Series odds have been adjusted
+1200 (from +2000)

[Asianiac_24]

Lauer deserves a starting spot in this rotation next year, at least to start the year. He has performed well for us last year and performed well when he was called upon as well in the world series as well. I would begin the year with a 6 man rotation of Cease/Gausman/Bieber/Yesavage/Berrios/Lauer lineup, and if Scherzer wants to come back he would have to be the long man in the BP or replace the starter who gets injured. Regardless, Lauer should not be demoted based on his performance last year.

[bartron_44]

Does everyone realize just how bad they need pitching after 2026? Locking in a top of the rotation type of guy like Cease had to be priority #1, and they didn’t even have to wait for the winter meetings to get him on board.


This is a good sign that FAs were watching the vibes in Toronto this postseason, and they want to be a part of it Cant wait to see what other presents Atkins puts under our trees this holiday season

[polo007]

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Dylan Cease's Signing Is A Statement To MLB | JD Bunkis Podcast

SPORTSNET

November 27, 2025

JD Bunkis and Sportsnet's Ben Ennis break down all the details of Dylan Cease's signing before diving into the worst contracts in Toronto sports history. Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith then joins the show to continue the Jays talk and what moves need to be made to move forward.

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0:00 - Dylan Cease Signing Reactions With Ben Ennis

40:02 - Worst Singings In Toronto Sports History

53:22 - Ben Nicholson Smith

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[polo007]

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[Parataxis]

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This list seems pretty questionable. How can an owner only be worth $400M, if the team that he owns is worth more than that?

[Harry Palmer]

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Also really reinforces how much corporations have divested themselves of sports teams and it’s almost exclusively private individual or family owners now. I knew that had been the trend, but hadn’t looked at a list in a while. Used to be much closer to 50/50.