Blue Jays predicted to sign $32M two-time Cy Young winner, 2x All-Star to form duo with Dylan Cease
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Blue Jays predicted to sign $32M two-time Cy Young winner, 2x All-Star to form duo with Dylan Cease originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a very disappointing 2026 season in which they missed the playoffs after reaching the World Series in 2025. This offseason will be another critical one as they look to make some major additions.
The thing about Toronto is that it needs healthy pitchers. This winter will be all about finding the right guys.
“Some injuries, you can see coming. When the 42-year-old Max Scherzer runs into a few IL stints, no one should be surprised. When José Berríos has Tommy John surgery after not missing a start for nearly a decade, it's terribly unfortunate, but we all understand the realities of baseball and the limitations of the human elbow. The Blue Jays are trying to find that line now between bad luck and controllable variables," MLB.com's Keegan Matheson wrote.
The Blue Jays' pitching staff could look very different next season, but this is what their rotation is expected to look like to begin the year.
“So, as long as Cody Ponce is healthy when Opening Day comes around, they will be running a four-man rotation as is: Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Jose Soriano, and Cody Ponce. Eventually, the team will welcome back Jose Berrios, but it has been a rough go of things in terms of his health," SI's Maddy Dickens wrote.
However, CBS Sports' Mike Axisa believes Toronto could make a major move by signing Tarik Skubal this winter.
“Skubal is the best starting pitcher to hit free agency since Gerrit Cole in 2019. He showed few long-lasting effects from the NanoScope elbow surgery in May and remains a capital-A Ace with terrific surface stats and under-the-hood performance indicators. Skubal brings four swing-and-miss pitches to the table (four-seamer, changeup, slider, curveball), a near MLB-best ability to limit exit velocity, and elite strike-throwing ability (MLB's third-lowest walk rate since 2023). Build an ace starter in a lab and he would look a lot like Skubal. He'll play the entire 2027 season at age 30, and given the things teams can do with pitchers these days, Skubal figures to remain a frontline starter for most of a long-term contract,” Axisa wrote.
That would be the move of the offseason for Toronto if the Blue Jays could convince him not to re-sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ultimately, it will come down to Skubal's preference and what happens during the MLB lockout.
Skubal played on a $32 million contract this past season. Toronto wants to get back to the World Series, and landing the best starting pitcher in the league would be a great place to start.
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