Blue Jays join other AL East teams with interest in Padres Cy Young finalist starter

As the Blue Jays continue their search for starting pitching help at the deadline, a new name has been reported regarding Toronto's interest. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, all four contenders in the AL East have expressed interest in Dylan Cease.

A type of trade involving Cease would not be like traditional deadline deals. The Padres are just a few games back of the Dodgers in the NL West, and within a wild card spot. San Diego appears to want to shed this salary for young talent, to then aid them towards different starting pitching options with both the money and prospect capital to acquire them.

Since Cease is on the market and has the known abilties to lead a staff, why not go after him? He is having a slight down year after finishing fourth in Cy Young voting, so maybe the asking price is cheap from San Diego. If so, the route for Cease makes a lot of sense for Toronto as their farm system will be heavily depended on these next few seasons with all the free agents in the rotation.

The Blue Jays' interest in Dylan Cease actually may make sense for the future of this organization.

Cease will also be a free agent after the season, marking potentially four expiring contracts from this teams' starting rotation. Nonetheless, getting an arm to help reach the postseason while retaining guys that can replace these starters should be the goal, which is why Cease makes a lot of sense.

On the season, Cease has posted a 4.59 ERA with a 3.58 FIP and a 11.4 K/9. His issue this season has been allowing more baserunners than normal, coming in hits, walks, and homers. All have increased this season, which is why he has struggled, yet the strikeouts have come up. The FIP shows he could turn things around, so he would not be a bad pickup.

The cost for Cease may land a prospect like Juaron Watts-Brown, the 10th ranked prospect in the organization per MLB Pipeline. He is having a solid season, but with the emergence of other arms, Toronto can afford to unload a guy like this. They have created a true pitching pipeline in the farm.

Now that the Blue Jays are reportedly interested in Cease, he definitely makes sense as a real target at a price that makes sense for the organization. They will have to compete with all their rivals to land this arm ahead of the deadline.