Blue Jays signing Dylan Cease is actually great for the ideal NY Mets offseason plans

They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada; at least not on the fourth Thursday of November every year. They do it in October. Maybe this is what gave them a bit of an edge on Wednesday night to get a deal done with free agent Dylan Cease. Regarded as one of the top available arms, he’s going to Toronto on a 7-year deal worth $210 million.

Higher than he was valued anywhere or predicted, it’s the kind of move a team that falls a win shy of a championship is bold enough to make. Cease has been a bit up-and-down in his career. An innings eater but an inconsistent ace in some seasons, he was thought of as a top target for the Mets, but maybe not ideal.

The signing does have some fallout for the Mets that can help them better create their ideal roster for 2026.

Even if you wanted the Mets to sign Dylan Cease, there are some immediate benefits to this for New York

First, one less team may now be on the prowl to trade for an available starter. The Blue Jays could always still get involved in a trade. They lost a couple of starters to free agency and might feel incentivized to trade Jose Berrios away.

Bigger is what this means in the Mets bullpen. The Blue Jays signed one qualifying offer rejector. Adding another has bigger consequences with the increased loss of draft picks. Like the Mets, if they were to sign a player who rejected the QO, the Blue Jays lose two draft picks and $1 million in international bonus slot money. A second costs two more draft picks.

Well, the Mets have a guy named Edwin Diaz and the Blue Jays have been one of the rumored teams to have interest. The Blue Jays aren’t completely eliminated from the Diaz market. Considering they had a closer meltdown in the World Series, it wouldn’t be the most devastating move to make for the team’s future when the window is open to win right now.

Robert Suarez never received a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres and is regarded as the second-best available closer. He’d be the more obvious pivot for the Blue Jays right now, taking another piece from a Padres club unwilling to spend and more interested in shaving off some dollars. Others like Kenley Jansen, Emilio Pagan, and Devin Williams would improve their situation as well.

The Atlanta Braves signing Raisel Iglesias took away one option for the Mets. The Blue Jays signing Cease might have taken one Diaz suitor away. Just don’t wait too long to invite him back. Before we know it, the alternatives could be signing and someone gets nervous and gives Diaz the sweetheart deal he’s looking for.