Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease Facing Decision After Surgery Update

John E&period; Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease Facing Decision After Surgery Update

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Sep 21, 2026 4:33 PM ET

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease has given this team everything he had this year. Unfortunately, it has come at the expense of his health. After Cease’s last outing against the Texas Rangers, which was a disaster as he recorded just eight outs and allowed four runs, he revealed he had been dealing with a right shoulder injury.

The issue was severe enough that it required further testing, and it was unclear whether surgery would be necessary. That would have been the absolute worst-case scenario given the potential impact on his availability for 2027.

Across 29 starts this year, the 30-year-old owned a 2.40 ERA with a career-high 239 strikeouts across 169 innings while earning his first career All-Star selection.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease (84) John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Cease addressed the results of his MRI while speaking with reporters ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

He shared that surgery would not be required, but added that he is still in the process of deciding the best next steps forward. He also provided more context on the extent of the injury, which was quite alarming.

He described the shoulder as “heavy and achy,” per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, and revealed the feeling began all the way back in late July.

He chose to push through it to help Toronto make the playoffs, and the only reason he admitted it was an issue now is because he felt he was actively hurting the team by continuing to pitch through it.

Dylan Cease described his shoulder as “heavy and achy”

This feeling began around his complete game against the Red Sox… which was back on July 25.

“Especially the last one [Sept. 18] was like, all right, I’m almost hurting the team.” #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 21, 2026

Unfortunately for Cease, he could not do it all on his own, and entering the final week of the regular season Toronto’s hopes of getting back to October are slim. They enter Monday three full games behind the Chicago White Sox for the final wild card spot.

Cease’s willingness to pitch through shoulder discomfort for nearly two months to give his team a chance speaks volumes about his character and his commitment to this organization. However, it still may cost him.