Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease told reporters Monday that an MRI revealed shoulder inflammation that is unlikely to require surgery, according to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson.
Cease added that he and the team are working through whether he will pitch again this season, which depends on how he feels and the Jays’ place in the standings.
Cease pitching again this season “feels (in my opinion) unlikely,” Matheson wrote as part of a post on X.
Cease lasted just 2.2 innings in Friday’s start against the Texas Rangers and had a noticeable dip in velocity, continuing a trend from his starts down the stretch of the season.
Cease and the Jays attributed it to wear and tear and said they did not believe there were any serious issues.
The 30-year-old righty has been lights out in his first season as a Jay after signing a seven-year, $210 million contract this past off-season. He has a 2.40 ERA with 239 strikeouts in 169.0 innings pitched and leads the American League among starters in strikeouts per nine innings (12.7), home runs per nine innings (0.9) and hits per nine innings (5.8).
Cease had a 4.55 ERA in 32 starts last season as a member of the San Diego Padres.
The Blue Jays enter Monday’s game in Baltimore against the Orioles three games back of the Chicago White Sox for the final American League wild-card spot. The White Sox hold the tiebreaker, which means the Jays would have to finish ahead of them to make the postseason should the Cleveland Guardians win the AL Central.
