The Toronto Blue Jays are running out of time, and now they may be running out of Dylan Cease, too.
Cease, who has been the club’s most valuable arm this season and a legitimate AL Cy Young contender, got an MRI on his shoulder in Toronto on Saturday, according to Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae. He will not make his next scheduled start on Wednesday, and while John Schneider has not completely shut the door on a possible start against the Reds, the uncertainty is glaring. Cease told reporters the shoulder felt “fatigued.”
Mae reported, “Dylan Cease is in Toronto and got an MRI on his shoulder last night," Mae reported. "Cease will not start on Wednesday. He will meet the team in Baltimore.
"John Schneider is not ruling out start vs. Reds. Cease said the shoulder felt 'fatigued.'"
The timing could hardly be worse. Toronto has just a week left in the 2026 season, and the team’s playoff hopes are slipping fast. Missing the Orioles series already stings, but if the Reds start never happens either, Cease could be done for the year.
That would leave a huge hole in a rotation that has leaned on him all season. In his first year with the Blue Jays, the 30-year-old has put together a 2.40 ERA across 29 starts, good for fourth in the majors. His 239 strikeouts trail only Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who has 243.
Even so, Cease’s last outing was a rough one. Against the Texas Rangers, he gave up four runs on three hits, issued a season-high six walks, and lasted just 2.2 innings while throwing 74 pitches in a 7-1 loss on Friday.
Toronto enters Sunday morning three games behind the Chicago White Sox for the final AL wild card spot, with only seven games left on the schedule. The Blue Jays need a late surge and help from elsewhere, but the path is steep. FanGraphs gives them just a 4.4 per cent shot at reaching the postseason.
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Blue Jays Prospects Just Put Toronto's Farm System On Notice
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For Toronto, it was the kind of year that can change the conversation around an affiliate quickly, especially with the article also noting promotions for some of those players along the way. Championships in the minors are one thing, but individual recognition and upward movement tend to matter even more when a front office is trying to gauge who is ready to climb and who might be closer to helping the big club than expected. [Read more 🡒]