The ink is barely dry on Dylan Cease’s seven-year, $210 million contract, but MLB insider Dan Clark is already calling the Blue Jays’ championship aspirations a fantasy.

“They’re, arguably, not even the strongest rotation in the AL East…”

Clark quote-tweeted TSN‘s X post: “Does the signing of Dylan Cease give the Blue Jays the strongest pitching rotation in 2026?”

The MLB insider justified his claim by comparing the ERAs of the Blue Jays’ pitchers to those of the New York Yankees.

Looking at the numbers, the Blue Jays’ pitching rotation has an average ERA of 3.644, led by Trey Yesavage (3.21 ERA).

The 22-year-old rookie pitching sensation showcased incredible strikeout ability with 176 K in 112 IP and the durability to handle a major workload increase at five different teams, all while maintaining an ERA barely above 3.00.

He then brought this caliber of performance to the World Series, posting a 3-1 record with a 3.58 ERA over 27.2 innings pitched, recording an incredible 39 strikeouts. However, despite these performances and the addition of Dylan Cease, the Blue Jays’ rotation falls short of the Yankees’, which has an average ERA of 3.37. And the lead of the Yankee list is well ahead with Cam Schlittler’s 2.96 ERA.

Based on these numbers, Dan Clark further doubled down on his evaluation of the Blue Jays’ pitching rotation.

“Mark my words, the Blue Jays won’t be in the World Series again in 2026,” Clark tweeted in response to a comment about how Toronto fans are exaggerating about their new pitching rotation.

Now, only time will tell if the Toronto Blue Jays have found the answer to their pitching woes ahead of the 2026 season. In the meantime, let’s look at the breakdown of Dylan Cease’s massive $210 million contract.

Dylan Cease’s Blue Jays contract breakdown

The 29-year-old pitching sensation from Milton, Georgia, emerged as a bona fide star when he finished second in AL Cy Young voting as a member of the Chicago White Sox. He was then traded to the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2024 season and delivered on his potential by finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting in his first year with the Friars.

Despite struggling in 2025 with a 4.55 ERA across 168 innings pitched, his 3.56 FIP indicated that Cease had a rather unlucky last season. Examining his career statistics, Cease boasts remarkable strikeout potential with 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He has maintained a strikeout rate over 10.0 in each of the last five seasons.

Based on these numbers, Dylan Cease signed a massive seven-year, $210M contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. This deal includes $210M in guaranteed compensation and an average annual salary of $30M, according to Spotrac.

Now, after closing the Dylan Cease signing, it will be interesting to see how the Toronto Blue Jays operate through the offseason.