Why this Padres star makes sense as a Blue Jays free agent target in the offseason 

Looking ahead for the Toronto Blue Jays to this upcoming offseason, they could be faced with the reality that they could lose three potential starters from their rotation to free agency. With the contracts of both Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer expiring after the 2025 season, along with the possibility of Shane Bieber opting out of his own contract, it could leave a huge void in the Blue Jays’ starting five heading into 2026.

With that in mind, the Blue Jays should target a solid frontline starter in the free agent market. The one that has recently deemed a best fit for Toronto by MLB insider Robert Murray is San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease.

Why this Padres star makes sense as a Blue Jays free agent target in the offseason 

Cease is actually coming off one of his worst seasons in the majors this past year. In 2025, the star right-hander posted just an 8-12 record with a 4.55 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, giving up 85 earned runs including 21 home runs in 168 innings pitched over 32 starts. Despite that, he managed to post his fifth consecutive season of 200+ strikeouts with 215.

More importantly, Cease has proven to be a front-end-of-the-rotation starter for much of his seven-year MLB career split between the Chicago White Sox and Padres.  The 29-year-old pitcher has compiled a 65-58 record with a solid 3.88 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, along with a whopping 1231 strikeouts in just 1015 1/3 innings pitched over 188 career starts. In doing so, Cease finished in the top five in Cy Young voting, including finishing runner-up to Justin Verlander in 2022 for the AL Cy Young Award.

So what’s in it for the Blue Jays? First of all, Cease would bring with him a strikeout ability like none other on their current roster with a career strikeout rate close to 29%. Secondly, despite a small sample size, he has shown to have success pitching at Rogers Centre, with a career 2.57 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, together with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings of work.

More significantly, with the Blue Jays potentially losing two former Cy Young pitchers in Scherzer and Bieber this winter, Cease would help fill some of that void by being a Cy Young-caliber pitcher himself. On top of that, coming off a down year in 2025, it might just be enough for Toronto to acquire him at a more valued price than expected.

Consequently, most other teams will likely focus their attention on top starting pitching options in the free agent market such as Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez, who are both coming off strong 2025 MLB campaigns. That is when the Blue Jays can sneak in, just like how they surprisingly landed Bieber at the trade deadline, and nab the elite starting option in Cease when free agency opens.