Blue Jays land Dylan Cease in $210M record deal—then he strikes out 12 in debut
Toronto, meet Dylan Cease. Dylan Cease, meet Toronto. Fellow with the flowing chestnut mane that he rakes with his fingers after just about every pitch, and the Freddie Mercury 'stache, and the chin dimple. Details of greater consequence: Blazing fastball that can tip into triple digits, lethal slider, nasty curve, swing-and-miss splitter. Sinker and cutter and changeup sprinkled in. At least 200 punchouts in each of the past five seasons. Co-ace, really, of the Blue Jays starting rotation. Tiffany signee early in the off-season, put his right-handed John Hancock on a seven-year, $210-million (U.S.) contract, the richest free-agent deal in franchise history. Made his debut on the Toronto mound in Saturday's matinee against the Athletes. And it went like this through 5 1/3 innings: one run on three hits, a dozen strikeouts, most notably a fourth-inning caught-looking on Jeff McNeil that hung fire while batterymate Alejandro Kirk requested a challenge on what the home plate umpire had pegged as a ball on a 3-2 count. The technology backed up Kirk and Cease flung up his arms as he climbed down from the mound on the third out. Seven strikeouts in a row in there. The 30-year-old's afternoon would end in a no-decision a couple of innings-plus later, on a combination of a leadoff walk and RBI double, with Tyler Soderstrom's stolen third base reviewed (four challenges/reviews on the day and I'm starting to not like this) and upheld. But 90 pitches for an inaugural outing was deemed enough. The electric fastball and pernicious slider did most of the damage, although a changeup reshaped in spring training proved an effective weapon as well. Even more overwhelming than opening-day starter Kevin Gausman had been the night before, Cease came just as advertised. Eyes still front on Cease, a most interesting gentleman, on and off the bump. Intimidating on the mound, rather quirky off it. To wit: Moving north of the border, with the San Diego Padres disappearing in his rear view mirror, Cease was eagerly looking forward to Canadian oysters (cold water superior over the American version), Cuban cigars (legally unavailable in America), checking out local restaurants as a devoted foodie and diving deep into Toronto's vintage clothing shops. The guy is quite vintage-gaga, unfazed about dropping serious coin on what collectors call 'grails' - stuff they covet, seek in brick-and-mortar establishments and online. For Cease, it's not even about retro baseball. His most-prized possessions relate to Disney cartoon characters and their cultural impact and, even more so, an obsessive preoccupation with the 1992 Disney movie 'Aladdin,' particularly Robin Williams' genius Genie. Cease rocked an Aladdin jersey at spring training. Cease is also a yoga disciple, most specifically a devotee of yogi. His own jersey number, 84, is a nod to the number of classic posses in Hatha yoga. 'I got into it in my low 20s and have relied on it pretty heavily,' Cease told the Star. 'I'm not crazy flexible or anything. I feel like a lot of the benefits for me are at the meditation.' Gives him a peaceful place, even on a pitching day. 'It centres me. Makes me feel good about life.' And, oh, Cease is an intrapreneur, owns a couple of disc golf courses, and has looked into buying land in Hawaii to grow Kona coffee beans. Insight gained, too, into how the Jays roll, as they clawed back and walked off again. 'The guys definitely don't give up. Both games was really impressive to watch.'
