The Toronto Blue Jays just made a statement-loud and clear-about their intentions for the future of their rotation. The club has reached an agreement with right-hander Dylan Cease on a seven-year deal worth a guaranteed $210 million, pending a physical.
The deal includes deferred money, which lowers the average annual value for luxury tax purposes to around $26 million. When you factor in the deferred structure, the net present value of the contract lands closer to $182 million.
Cease, a client of the Boras Corporation, becomes the centerpiece of a rotation that needed a top-end arm. And make no mistake-this is a big-time move.
Cease has the kind of stuff that plays anywhere: a mid-to-upper 90s fastball, a wipeout slider, and the kind of strikeout upside that can change a postseason series. He’s had ups and downs with command, sure, but when he's on, he's one of the most electric pitchers in the game.
Toronto is betting on that upside-and betting big.
But beyond the baseball fit, there’s another layer to this deal that’s worth unpacking: the financial structure. The Blue Jays are following a blueprint we’ve seen perfected by the Dodgers in recent years-most notably with Shohei Ohtani’s historic deal.
By deferring a portion of Cease’s salary, Toronto lowers the annual hit against the luxury tax, giving them more flexibility to build around him in future seasons. It’s a savvy move from a front office looking to stay competitive in a tough AL East.
So here’s the bigger question: why aren’t more teams doing this?
Take the Cubs, for example. Cease is a Chicago-area native and seemed like a natural fit for a team looking to bolster its rotation.
If the Cubs had offered the same deal-$210 million over seven years with deferrals-they’d still be comfortably under the 2026 luxury tax threshold of $244 million. And it’s not just about staying under the tax.
Deferred money can be invested or held in escrow, potentially earning interest while inflation gradually eats away at the real value of the future payments. It’s a financial win for the team and, evidently, an acceptable structure for players and agents.
We’ve seen this model work for the Dodgers, who’ve used it to stack elite talent while keeping their books clean in the eyes of the tax man. If players like Cease and Ohtani are open to this kind of structure, it raises the question: why aren’t more front offices jumping on board?
It’s not a loophole-this is within the rules, and it’s smart roster construction. Teams can spread out their payroll obligations, reduce their tax burden, and still land top-tier talent.
And with the Winter Meetings just around the corner, this could become a key storyline to watch. Will more teams start to get creative with how they structure contracts?
Will we see a shift in how front offices approach long-term deals?
For now, the Blue Jays have landed their guy. Dylan Cease is heading north of the border, and Toronto’s rotation just got a whole lot more dangerous.
But the ripple effects of this deal could go well beyond the AL East. If this contract structure becomes the new norm, we might be looking at a shift in how baseball’s biggest deals get done.