Dylan Cease blockbuster sets up Blue Jays arch rival to make major move of their own 

With the recent Dylan Cease blockbuster trade between the Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres, one would think the Toronto Blue Jays caught a huge break in that a top-notch, number one starter has been moved out of the American League. However, it may not be the case as in fact, the worse may be yet to come, as the fallout of the trade could have big repercussions for the Jays.

With the move of Cease to San Diego, it has inadvertently set up the New York Yankees to desperately recruit 2023 NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell to their squad. That is because their ace Gerrit Cole has recently been sidelined due to an elbow injury that will likely keep him out of action for at least one to two months, perhaps even more as he is set to undergo more tests. With the uncertainty of when their ace will return in 2024, the Yankees will need to find a high-end replacement at the top of their rotation pronto.

Rumors had it that the Yankees expressed interest in acquiring Cease prior to him being dealt to the Padres. But with that option no longer available, it makes too much sense that they pivot to heavily pursue the best front-end pitching option available in Snell. After all, he put together a sensational 2023 season in which he compiled a stellar 14-9 record with a 2.25 ERA, 182 ERA+, 1.19 WHIP, along with 234 strikeouts in just 180 innings pitched, en route to his second career Cy Young Award.

Just for comparison, Snell’s ERA, ERA+, hits given up, home runs given up, strikeouts and strikeout rate were all considerably better than Cole's last season, who also won the 2023 AL Cy Young Award. So not only would Snell be the ideal replacement for Cole while he is on the sidelines, he could potentially even surpass the impact that Cole would have provided. And if Cole manages to get back earlier than expected, the AL East and the rest of the American League could be in for a doozy. With the two best pitchers in baseball active at the same time for the same Yankees team, don’t look now but they could be steamrolling over their competition for the rest of the season.

In the case for the Jays, that is certainly the last thing they would want in their pursuit for a World Series championship this year. So when you thought having Cease gone was good news, it actually can quickly turn into a nightmare if Snell ends up landing with the Yankees. Sad to say for the Jays and their faithful, that possibility is now getting closer to a reality by the day. But if they really want to prevent it from happening, there’s still one realistic way to do so, that is for the Jays to successfully sign Snell themselves in any way possible. Let’s go Jays and reel the big fish in for once!