Dylan Cease says the quiet part out loud about choosing Blue Jays over Padres

The Padres never had a real chance at retaining Dylan Cease on a long-term contract, as the 29-year-old priced himself out of their budget after putting up solid numbers over the past two seasons.

Cease ended up landing a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays on Nov. 26, which locked him in as the team’s long-term ace. Cease even ended up with not only a higher AAV, as the length of the deal was longer than expected.

Dylan Cease doesn’t sugarcoat why he picked the Blue Jays over the Padres

Signing a starting pitcher to a long-term deal is always risky because if they don’t end up panning out the way you think, it could seriously hurt the future of the team, as the amount owed for mediocre production can set a franchise back big time.

The reason Toronto went as big as they did for Cease was obviously to build the roster up to the best of their ability to repeat the same success they had last year. Toronto won the American League pennant but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

Cease making the move north of the border was not only driven by money, as the right-hander’s decision was also fueled by the desire to win.

“The biggest part really was being able to be a part of a championship team,” Cease said.

2025 was the year for the Padres to go big, as they had their core four in Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackson Merrill headlining their lineup. On top of that, the team acquired Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Freddy Fermin, and Mason Miller via trade, upgrading a plethora of different positions.

Despite the roster improvements, the team was bounced from the playoffs in the first round. With that, San Diego will see a handful of marquee players depart, along with Dylan Cease, who was the first to go.

We are confident that A.J. Preller can patch up the holes, as past moves he has made prove that he can build a roster with minimal money to spend. It will be interesting to see how Cease’s comments motivate Preller in his quest to fill the vacancies on the team ahead of 2026.