The Toronto Blue Jays were heavily involved in the Corbin Burnes sweepstakes. In fact, it's rumored the Blue Jays offered more money than the Arizona Diamondbacks, but Burnes chose Arizona to stay close to home among other reasons.
Now the Blue Jays, who haven't made any serious improvements to the roster, need to pivot to a backup plan to improve their starting pitching rotation.
The best option available may be San Diego Padres ace Dylan Cease. Cease is on an expiring contract, but the Blue Jays have the money to extend or re-sign him at the end of the year, so it doesn't have to be a rental.
Here's a trade that would send Cease to the Blue Jays to join their starting rotation:
- Toronto Blue Jays receive: RHP Dylan Cease
- San Diego Padres receive: RHP Jake Bloss (No. 3 prospect), RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (No. 19 prospect), OF Yohendrick Pinango (No. 21 prospect)
Cease would be a huge addition to the Blue Jays roster, and it wouldn't cost them hundreds of millions of dollars. Instead, Cease would cost a haul of prospects that Toronto can afford to lose.
Bloss, 23, put together a great 2023 and 2024 season with the Houston Astros organization. The right hander was traded to Toronto at the 2024 trade deadline where he struggled a bit. Still, he has the potential to be a top of the rotation starter in the next few seasons.
Watts-Brown, 22, was solid in his first professional season. Walks hurt him as he surrendered 60 free passes in 103 innings split between Low-A and High-A. Pinango, 22, is a solid outfield prospect with plenty of decent tools. He doesn't excel at any one thing more than the others, but he's solid across the board.
Toronto needs to make a move or it's going to land at the bottom of the American League East. Trading for Cease could be the move the Blue Jays are looking for.
More MLB: Dodgers $80 Million Ace Predicted To Betray LA, Sign With Hated NL West Rival
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/04/24/878/n/3019466/36c5693c662965c5d1ce91.72473705_.jpg)
English (US) ·