Blue Jays Make Dylan Cease Injury Move After Latest Start
The Toronto Blue Jays are having a bit of a mediocre season with a 25-28 record entering Memorial Day.
Fresh off a crushing World Series loss in Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Blue Jays entered the 2026 campaign with high hopes.
So, the third-place standing in the American League East is not promising, and now prized free agent acquisition Dylan Cease is dealing with an injury.
Cease went 4.2 innings on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates before exiting early with a hamstring injury.
On Monday, the Blue Jays placed Cease on the Injured List, via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said it was a "mild" hamstring strain, but one that will still send Cease to the IL.
Dylan Cease will be hitting the IL with a mild left hamstring strain per John Schneider
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 25, 2026
Corresponding move to come later. Jays still talking through ways to cover for Cease. They'll need someone to go for 70+ pitches Friday @ BAL.
Cease spent the past two seasons with the San Diego Padres, who acquired him in a deal with the Chicago White Sox right before the 2024 campaign began.
However, the Blue Jays gave Cease a whopping seven-year deal worth $210 million. In 11 starts, Cease went 3-3 with a 3.05 ERA and 92 strikeouts, which has him second in all of baseball behind Milwaukee Brewers star Jacob Misiorowski.
Dylan Cease left his Saturday start in the fifth inning due to mild left hamstring discomfort, per Blue Jays. He was first visited by a Blue Jays trainer following the below pitch.
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) May 24, 2026
Cease leads MLB with 185 games started since 2020 and is sixth with 1,004.1 innings pitched pic.twitter.com/GXv2QdjZ3W
Dylan Cease Injury is Tough Blow for Toronto
As always, there are two sides to the coin.
For one, Cease suffering a hamstring strain is not a long-term issue.
On the other side, the Blue Jays need every bit of help they can get in order to catch up and get back to .500.
Another notable absence on Monday was slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Vladdy is absent from #BlueJays' lineup.
— Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) May 25, 2026
We'll talk to John Schneider shortly; updates to come on Guerrero Jr. & Dylan Cease. https://t.co/F24s13Rq0T
Guerrero also left Sunday's game early as the Blue Jays slugger was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning against the Pirates.
Vladdy got plunked by a pitch and left the game instantly pic.twitter.com/D2nBU1aaUQ
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 24, 2026
Veteran pitcher Max Scherzer has been on the IL since the end of April. Offseason acquisition Cody Ponce pitched just 2.1 innings before suffering a season-ending injury, and now Cease will miss time, so the pitching depth has been tested early and often for Toronto.
The Blue Jays have yet to announce who will start in Cease's place, but the hope is that it is a short stint for him on the IL.
Related: What Dylan Cease Injury Means for Blue Jays Rotation
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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 4:48 PM.