Dodgers now watching free agency burn after Blue Jays sign Dylan Cease

After being vanquished by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Toronto Blue Jays made one of the biggest splashes we'll see this winter, signing Dylan Cease to a massive seven-year $210 million contract on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Cease is a pitcher that the Dodgers are intimately familiar with, having faced off against him regularly the past two seasons while he was toiling for the division rival San Diego Padres. The deal for Cease is a bit comical, as it is roughly $30 million more than he was projected to make, and his track record makes him difficult to predict moving forward.

Over the past four seasons, Cease has had two top-five Cy Young finishes, two seasons (including 2025) with ERAs north of 4.50, and in that time period has led the majors in both walks and strikeouts. He's either the best bad pitcher or the worst good pitcher you'll find, depending on whether you slant optimistic or pessimistic.

That gigantic overpay is a sign of things to come, as clubs try and keep pace with the Dodgers and nullify LA's shot at a three-peat. However, that could have disastrous consequences for the rest of the league, which will only serve to benefit the Dodgers long-term.

Dylan Cease signing highlights how teams will extend themselves to beat Dodgers

The Blue Jays pulled a trick out of the Dodgers' playbook and deferred a decent chunk of change in Cease's deal to bring the present-day value down to $182 million. They did so, likely to make it more feasible to make another big splash or two this offseason, and you can expect other teams to do the same.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers don't have a ton of needs and, if Brandon Gomes is to be believed, will explore the free agent market without needing to operate with much urgency. If reports are to be believed, Los Angeles might be more active in the trade market than in free agency.

That will lead to the rest of the league going on spending sprees in what is overall a weak free-agent class, overpaying to try to catch up to where the Dodgers are. Deferred money is expected to be a prime tool that these clubs will use, just as the Blue Jays did with Cease, but it could come back to bite them.

There is much uncertainty regarding the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which comes next winter, and brings with it the potential for a lockout. What emerges from that could have the landscape looking very different.

The Dodgers already have a bunch of deferrals on the ledger, but they're in the financial position to navigate the uncertainty just fine. For other teams, they could find themselves hamstrung for the foreseeable future if they lean too heavily into this market and spread the money out too far into the future.

As a result, the Dodgers are sitting pretty. While they likely won't be dormant, they can take their time and act methodically, while the other contenders spend wildly and foolishly trying to keep pace, just as the Blue Jays have done with Cease. Overall, that will only strengthen LA's position in the future.