Kevin Gausman

The Blue Jays’ early signings of Dylan Cease and KBO returnee Cody Ponce have deepened a rotation that already included Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios. Lefty Eric Lauer and righty Yariel Rodriguez give Toronto a pair of quality swing options, too, and the Jays still have Bowden Francis and former top…

The Blue Jays’ early signings of Dylan Cease and KBO returnee Cody Ponce have deepened a rotation that already included Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios. Lefty Eric Lauer and righty Yariel Rodriguez give Toronto a pair of quality swing options, too, and the Jays still have Bowden Francis and former top…

Toronto continues to fortify their rotation shortly after inking Dylan Cease to a massive seven-year $210 million contract. The 31-year-old right-hander was one of the true X-factor starters on the market this offseason after a remarkable run overseas in Korea with the Hanwha Eagles where he posted a microscopic 1.89 ERA and 252/41 K/BB ratio across 180 2/3 innings over 29 starts this past season. He'll operate as a back-end stabilizer behind Kevin Gausman, Cease, Shane Bieber and rookie sensation Trey Yesavage. It's a fascinating landing spot for fantasy purposes as he'll have a relatively unobstructed path to a rotation spot on a title contender and offers enough swing-and-miss upside to matter in deeper mixed leagues despite pitching in unforgiving AL East environments. He's a late-round dart throw worth monitoring closely in spring training.

There's deferred money in the deal that makes it around $26 million per year for luxury tax purposes, but in terms of cash, Cease gets the seventh-largest contract in history for a pitcher, tied with Max Scherzer's seven-year deal that expired in 2021 and Corbin Burnes' seven-year deal signed a year ago. Cease replaces Chris Bassitt and is set to join Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Jose Berrios and Trey Yesavage in the Jays' 2026 rotation. He should probably be looked at in the 15-20 range among fantasy SPs.