MLB Insider says Blue Jays overpaid for Dylan Cease

Keith Law certainly does. The longtime baseball insider, and one-time employee of the Toronto Blue Jays, certainly didn't mince words in his new opinion piece for The Athletic.

While Law describes the newest Blue Jay as durable and sometimes dominant, he also that the 2022 Cy Young runner-up is wildly inconsistent.

In many ways Law has a point. He's right on durability as Cease has made 162 starts over the last five full seasons, which is tops in the majors.

However, after a posting a 2.20 ERA in 2022, Cease's ERA ballooned to 4.55 in 2025. His walk rate is also an average 10%.

Yet he also has a high whiff rate and his other peripheral stats and analytics rank much higher and more worth of $210MM payday.

Still, Law says there are other flaws that the Blue Jays overlooked:

Law's two main concerns about Cease are his shaky command - his aforementioned isn't great for ace-calibre pitcher - and he rarely posts a clean outing.

Additionally, Cease tends to poorly with runners on base.

In spite of his flaws, Cease was considered the top starting pitcher on the market and his deal with the Blue Jays came in right around where many analysts were expecting.

Still at 30 years old, the Blue Jays are banking on durability are hoping pitching coach Pete Walker can work some of his legendary magic to help Cease capture his 2022 form.

Otherwise, Law will be proven right.