Dylan Cease sign with Blue Jays

[mk49]

31 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Honestly at this point if it's not Imai, I'd rather they just trade for either of Ryan or Cabrera.

I agree, but I won't be surprised if the Cubs get King.

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, chopsx9 said:

Blue Jays owners, Rogers Communications, are the 2nd wealthiest owners in MLB. (Behind Cohen)

Ricketts has plenty of money. It is more about willingness to go over the LT. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Jed stuck to his convictions and had an outstanding offseason last year. Let's be patient. A significant trade will likely come.

[Rcal10]

27 minutes ago, mk49 said:

I agree, but I won't be surprised if the Cubs get King.

I forgot about Imai. If it is a FA pitcher I would say either King, Gallen or Imai. But I think the high end pitcher is going to come via a trade, TBH. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

There's a lot of pitchers I would consider signing to a 7/210 contract but Cease is not one of them. I'm not comfortable giving pitchers who are pushing 30 (Cease will be 30 in late December) more than a 5 year deal. 

Good on Cease and Blue Jays, but imo good on the Cubs for not getting stuck with that contract.

[Stratos]

45 minutes ago, mk49 said:

I agree, but I won't be surprised if the Cubs get King.

Mooney and Sharma said after the GM meetings that a ton of teams are interested in King.  Not surprising.  I could see the Cubs getting King but I don't think they're going to get some great deal either.

[Stratos]

7 years is a lot but pretty much the going rate for someone like Cease.  Can't see the Cubs signing a pitcher that long.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, BKHoo said:

If I had to guess it’s King or Cabrera in a trade.  

I really hope they do better than Cabrera or Alcantara.

[Stratos]

3 hours ago, chopsx9 said:

Blue Jays owners, Rogers Communications, are the 2nd wealthiest owners in MLB. (Behind Cohen)

Rogers is the biggest cable company in Canada and shows all Jays games on basic cable throughout Canada.  They also did their own separate broadcast of every playoff game including the World Series and also showed it on basic cable.  Their market is an entire country of 40 million people.  Apparently around 8-10 million Canadians were watching the WS.

Jays fans are a bit fairweather but when they're winning the fans show up in droves.  They were 2nd in the AL in attendance this year and will probably be #1 next year.  Greater Toronto area is almost as big as Greater Chicago now, but only 1 baseball team.  They make bank.  I'd be surprised if they didn't bring back Bichette.  They'll likely be in on Tucker but if Bichette resigns i'd say the Yanks or Dodgers get him.

[chopsx9]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

Ricketts has plenty of money. It is more about willingness to go over the LT. 

And Rogers has many multiples of the Ricketts money which oils the wheels of willingness.

[Neuby]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6832284/2025/11/24/miami-marlins-pittsburgh-pirates-spending-offseason-revenue-sharing/

 

I don't think the Marlins are selling.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

There's still Imai and King, and the Twins have Pablo Lopez and/or Joe Ryan available.

[mk49]

I would be happy to sign Imai, but it'll be a long shot.  Kind is more realistic.  I think King actually has the higher potential than Cease and a few other FA's.  At the same time, it's a gamble.

As some of you said, we'll probably need to trade a few people.

[Geographyhater8888]

7 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I forgot about Imai. If it is a FA pitcher I would say either King, Gallen or Imai. But I think the high end pitcher is going to come via a trade, TBH. 

Zach Gallen would be the quintessential free agent signing by this front office. 

Edited November 27, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

13 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Ricketts has plenty of money. It is more about willingness to go over the LT. 

Yes. They have no intention of ever paying a bidding war tax for any high priced free agent and it’s insulting.

Edited November 27, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

Yes. They have no intention of ever paying a bidding war tax toward any high priced free agent and it’s insulting.

This is what frustrates me. I am not comparing Ricketts money to the money of the e Jay owners. I am just saying it is annoying that the Cubs don’t act big market when they are big market. And when other teams do spend without fear of the LT or fear of the next CBA it reminds me of how ridiculous our ownership philosophy is. 

[Backtobanks]

15 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

This is what frustrates me. I am not comparing Ricketts money to the money of the e Jay owners. I am just saying it is annoying that the Cubs don’t act big market when they are big market. And when other teams do spend without fear of the LT or fear of the next CBA it reminds me of how ridiculous our ownership philosophy is. 

It's hard to criticize an owner that takes his obscene profits and put it into improving the team.  If only we had one of those.

[Geographyhater8888]

2 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

This is what frustrates me. I am not comparing Ricketts money to the money of the e Jay owners. I am just saying it is annoying that the Cubs don’t act big market when they are big market. And when other teams do spend without fear of the LT or fear of the next CBA it reminds me of how ridiculous our ownership philosophy is. 

We’re supposed to shrug our shoulders when Dylan Cease signs with the Jays, who Jed allegedly “showed a lot of interest in” because he’s not worth 2016 Max Scherzer money. If they want to model themselves after the 2018-24 Braves they’ll need more star power than PCA and Michael Busch. 

Edited November 27, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[Jason Ross]

7 years for the type of pitcher Cease is, is fine. Contrary to popular belief, SPs are aging better than hitters. There is always the concern of the TJS bomb in there, but science has come so far on that surgery that it's a speed bump more so than what it used to be. Cease has been very available for teams as well. 

Sucks it wasn't the Cubs here. 

[Rcal10]

6 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

7 years for the type of pitcher Cease is, is fine. Contrary to popular belief, SPs are aging better than hitters. There is always the concern of the TJS bomb in there, but science has come so far on that surgery that it's a speed bump more so than what it used to be. Cease has been very available for teams as well. 

Sucks it wasn't the Cubs here. 

Agreed. It is a perfectly reasonable contract for him. With the deferrals in the contract it puts the LT number at about $26M a year. If the Cubs didn’t think he would get that when they suggested they would be in on him that is a problem in the FO in evaluating a market. Now, I am. It sure he was the guy I wanted anyway, but the issue is supposedly the Cubs did. Yet they didn’t beat an offer that was in line what should have been expected. Which is a problem. And if they don’t get with the times on costs of players they are going to walk away from this off season with minimal gains via FA. Nice to say you are interested in someone, but if you are not realistic with the offer, it doesn’t matter. 

[Jason Ross]

Eh, I think we are missing the forest for the trees in being upset about the reports they were interested. Lots go into that. We really haven't gotten the "we tried" stuff from the Cubs here yet, and maybe that's incoming, but it's been pretty quiet other than some reports early that the Cubs liked him. It sucks we didn't get Cease but it's also very early in the off-season. If the Cubs walk away with one from the Imai, Gore, Ryan, Cabrera camp I'm going to be fine regardless. I might even be cool with Michael King as our best SP addition but the rest of the off-season would have to offset the drop in my confidence there. There might even be a few names in this group we don't know are available but who are actually available. 

Long off-season. I'd have been totally cool with a 7/$210 for Cease, but that it was Toronto is what it is. Lots of options, lots of routes. In a vacuum the Cubs are fine. No reason to panic yet. Talk to me in January, though. 

[Illiterate Scholar]

10 hours ago, Neuby said:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6832284/2025/11/24/miami-marlins-pittsburgh-pirates-spending-offseason-revenue-sharing/

 

I don't think the Marlins are selling.

I think Cabrera would be less about them selling and more just acquiring different pieces. I'm guessing the Marlins would get their 2026 starting right fielder and an MLB ready pitcher in return from the Cubs.

Edited November 27, 2025 by Illiterate Scholar

[Rcal10]

43 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Eh, I think we are missing the forest for the trees in being upset about the reports they were interested. Lots go into that. We really haven't gotten the "we tried" stuff from the Cubs here yet, and maybe that's incoming, but it's been pretty quiet other than some reports early that the Cubs liked him. It sucks we didn't get Cease but it's also very early in the off-season. If the Cubs walk away with one from the Imai, Gore, Ryan, Cabrera camp I'm going to be fine regardless. I might even be cool with Michael King as our best SP addition but the rest of the off-season would have to offset the drop in my confidence there. There might even be a few names in this group we don't know are available but who are actually available. 

Long off-season. I'd have been totally cool with a 7/$210 for Cease, but that it was Toronto is what it is. Lots of options, lots of routes. In a vacuum the Cubs are fine. No reason to panic yet. Talk to me in January, though. 

I’m just going with what Levine said often. The Cubs were interested and were going to be in on Cease. I am not panicking because they didn’t get him. Honestly he did worry me a little. Throws too many pitches to try getting thru 6 innings. That said, had they gotten him I would have been happy, mainly because I trust the Cubs FO to evaluate the talent more than I could. if they lined him and got him, that is good enough for me. 
But I agree with you that I can be happy with several other options. The point that does bother me a little is if Levine was right and the Cubs were all in on him, that contract shouldn’t have stopped them from getting him. They should know it would cost that. And if they don’t that concerns me on how they view others as well. Are they interested in King, but only for 3 years and $50M? Imai but only 6/$120M Bregman, but only 5/$120M. Or anyone else who they may like but with an unrealistic offer. That is my concern. If Levine is to be believed the Cubs really liked Cease. That deal should not have been a deal breaker for the Cubs if they really liked him. That is what concerns me more than just not getting Cease. 

[Rcal10]

1 minute ago, Illiterate Scholar said:

I think Cabrera would be less about them selling and more just acquiring different pieces. I'm guessing the Marlins would get their 2026 starting right fielder and an MLB ready pitcher in return

(Assad, Wicks or Brown)and (Cassie or Alcantara)? I would do that from the cubs perspective. 

[Tryptamine]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

I’m just going with what Levine said often. The Cubs were interested and were going to be in on Cease. I am not panicking because they didn’t get him. Honestly he did worry me a little. Throws too many pitches to try getting thru 6 innings. That said, had they gotten him I would have been happy, mainly because I trust the Cubs FO to evaluate the talent more than I could. if they lined him and got him, that is good enough for me. 
But I agree with you that I can be happy with several other options. The point that does bother me a little is if Levine was right and the Cubs were all in on him, that contract shouldn’t have stopped them from getting him. They should know it would cost that. And if they don’t that concerns me on how they view others as well. Are they interested in King, but only for 3 years and $50M? Imai but only 6/$120M Bregman, but only 5/$120M. Or anyone else who they may like but with an unrealistic offer. That is my concern. If Levine is to be believed the Cubs really liked Cease. That deal should not have been a deal breaker for the Cubs if they really liked him. That is what concerns me more than just not getting Cease. 

It's been kind of a reoccurring theme where the market price is consistently higher than what Jed has expected it to be. The most egregious case being last season's trade deadline. This in and of itself isn't awful, but the part where Jed isn't willing to adjust and push that extra bit even if it makes him uncomfortable, is why he very rarely shops above the 3rd tier of talent.