Blue Jays fans will love hearing Kevin Pillar's take on the Cease deal

The Toronto Blue Jays set the MLB offseason hot stove on fire with their move on Wednesday. They brought in one of the top free agent arms available, landing Dylan Cease to a reported multi-year deal. It's a move that solidifies the Blue Jays as having one of the best rotations in the game, and a not to their commitment to trying to get back to the World Series.

A former Blue Jays fan favorite - turned analyst took to twitter to express his thoughts on the deal and Blue Jays fans will not be disappointed in what he had to say.

Blue Jays fans will love hearing Kevin Pillar's take on the Cease trade

Kevin Pillar, who patrolled centerfield for the Blue Jays for years and has also plied his trade as an analyst on Blue Jays' coverage, quickly gave his thoughts on the deal after the news broke. Pillar, who was all ready for the (USA) Thanksgiving holiday says this deal is a slam dunk for Toronto.

He says after getting so close to a World Series title last year, they make a splash to begin the offseason. Pillar says, "They go out and get arguably the best starting pitcher on the market for seven years, and $210 million. I think everyone in baseball thought that the Blue Jays already had a great starting rotation and they had some internal pieces they probably felt comfortable with to round out their rotation."

He mentioned the three headed monster of Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber, but also said guys like José Berrios, Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis are all candidates to make the rotation or are waiting in the wings for their opportunity to show they can be a part of that rotation. Pillar added, "The Blue Jays front office and most importantly, their ownership group, are not messing around."

That's a great point for Pillar to make considering the Blue Jays are already committed to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. long term, after his record setting $500 million extension from last season. It only makes sense for the Blue Jays to continue to add and build around Vladdy.

Pillar says, "The team they put out there last year was so likeable, and so loveable, not just for Blue Jays fans but for everyone across baseball, it felt like they had a soft spot in their hearts for that team. There are no more talks about the Blue Jays being a small market team, this team is going out and spending cash. People show up when you do those things."

Pillar hits the nail on the end with those comments. The Blue Jays had 2.8 million fans come through the gates at Rogers Centre, 2nd out of the 15 American League teams and they've had the third highest attendance since 2022. That's all been within the Blue Jays competitive window where they have gone to the playoffs three times in four seasons.

While the first two trips in 2022 and '23 weren't successful, the Blue Jays made up for it in spades with their run in 2025, a decade after their last AL East division title, a team Pillar was a part of. For Blue Jays fans it's great to see the team spending money, wanting to compete, and hearing the excitement from former players is the icing on the cake.