Right-hander Dylan Cease’s first season with the Toronto Blue Jays might be over after the All-Star starter underwent an MRI on his throwing shoulder Saturday night.
Cease, 30, will miss his scheduled start Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, but Toronto’s ace remains in the mix to face the Cincinnati Reds in the final regular-season series as the team awaits the MRI results.
“Just wanted to see, with the velo [drop] and if there’s anything tied to that,” Toronto manager John Schneider told reporters Sunday. “Not expecting anything crazy.”
Toronto, which entered Sunday three games out of the American League’s final-wild card spot with seven games to play, is using two bullpen games out of its five rotation spots due to injuries.
According to Schneider, Cease’s shoulder has been an issue the last few weeks. In Friday’s 7-1 loss to the Texas Rangers, the veteran lasted a season-low 2 2/3 innings and threw the slowest four-seam fastball (90 mph) of his eight-year career. He also issued a season-high six walks.
“It wasn’t alarming enough to say, ‘Hey, I can’t pitch,'” Schneider said, “and was hoping to kind of come out of it, but just really hasn’t bounced back. So I think (we) just said, ‘All right, let’s take a look at it.'”
Signed to a seven-year, $210 million contract last December, Cease is among the American League’s leading Cy Young Award candidates after posting an 11-6 record, 2.40 ERA and an AL-best 239 strikeouts in 29 starts over 169 innings.
For his career, Cease is 76-64 in 217 starts with a 3.67 ERA and 1,470 strikeouts in 1,184 1/3 innings for the Chicago White Sox (2019-23), San Diego Padres (2024-25) and Blue Jays.
