Those words were once groaned in Toronto, but now they’re spoken with wide-eyed excitement. The Blue Jays, fresh off a dream season that fell just inches short in Game 7 of the World Series, are the talk of baseball once again.
The Blue Jays have agreed to terms on a seven-year, $210 million deal with Dylan Cease, a source told MLB.com on Wednesday, a big, bold move to get out ahead of the pitching market in late November. The Blue Jays, who have not confirmed the deal, appear to have made the move that will frame the rest of their offseason, giving them one of the best rotations in Major League Baseball.
They’re obviously not done. Not close. Besides, it’s still November.
1. Are the Blue Jays still in on Kyle Tucker and/or Bo Bichette?
Yes, because the Blue Jays have the financial flexibility to be “in” on whomever they want.
While the Cease deal does lessen the already-unlikely odds of the Blue Jays landing both Tucker and Bichette, by no means does it eliminate them from the running to land a bat at the top of the market.
Broadly speaking, the Blue Jays were already spending among baseball’s richest clubs, which all came prior to their run to the World Series. You don’t need an economics degree to understand that the past few months have only emboldened the Blue Jays, who suddenly understand the potential of the Canadian market that they’d only been able to dream of before. A team drawing average television audiences of up to 10.9 million viewers in a country of just over 40 million people isn’t exactly losing money.
If anything, the addition of Cease could make the trade market a likelier avenue for the Blue Jays, where names like Ketel Marte could be very attractive, but we have not yet reached the point where the Blue Jays are checking their account balance before tapping their card.
2. Which needs will be addressed next?
Beyond the need for one big bat, the Blue Jays’ bullpen remains the logical next step and they are expected to ramp up those talks as the relief market unfolds at the Winter Meetings. Last winter, they brought back Yimi García on a two-year deal. This winter, they are expected to aim higher.
This is where player development quietly plays a role. Past Blue Jays teams have needed to spend on the bullpen — even if that came in smaller chunks — because this organization was not producing enough big league arms from its own system. Now, with development success stories like Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty on top of Trey Yesavage and an improving pipeline of starters, some of these gaps are being filled in naturally, without the need to hand $6 million to a veteran.
The result? An increased appetite to focus their resources at the higher end of the market. The Blue Jays have Jeff Hoffman in the closer’s role for now and Louis Varland in place as a high-powered setup man, but the Seranthony Dominguez role needs to be replaced. The Blue Jays adding an established closer is absolutely possible, especially after this bold, decisive first step into free agency.
3. Could there be more moves in the rotation?
If the season started tomorrow, the Blue Jays would roll out their mighty rotation with some combination of:
Depth options include Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis, then prospects Gage Stanifer and Ricky Tiedemann. Adam Macko and Lazaro Estrada will have a chance to establish themselves in Spring Training, too, so there’s plenty to work with here.
Berríos still feels like the biggest variable here, though. The right-hander landed on the IL for the first time in his 10-year MLB career to end the season with right elbow inflammation and the regression of his fastball velocity was just one of several red flags. It’s hard to bet against “La Makina”, who has been one of baseball’s most consistent starters for nearly a decade, but some cracks finally showed in 2025.
It still feels unlikely that the Blue Jays would subtract from this group via trade, but it’s worth remembering that Berríos has a player opt-out following the 2026 season, meaning he could choose to hit the market again at 32 instead of playing out his final two seasons. Perhaps a contender who misses out on the market’s other top starters comes calling, but the Blue Jays won’t be in the business of helping the competition.
