Dylan Cease undergoes MRI on right shoulder, might not start again this season as Blue Jays fight for wild-card spot

The Toronto Blue Jays might be without their ace starting pitcher as they pursue a playoff berth in the final week of the 2026 MLB regular season.

Dylan Cease underwent an MRI exam on his right shoulder Saturday night and has been scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles . Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Sunday that Cease could be shut down for the remainder of the season.

Going into games Sunday, Toronto (76-79) was three games behind the Chicago White Sox (79-76) for the American League's third and final wild-card playoff spot . The Houston Astros are one game ahead of the Blue Jays in the standings at 77-78. Toronto has a 4.2% chance of making the postseason, according to FanGraphs .

If Cease's MRI shows no serious concerns, it's possible he could make one more start during Toronto's final three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds . But if the Blue Jays are too far back in the playoff race by then, it's unlikely Cease would pitch.

Schneider explained that Cease has been dealing with an issue in his shoulder for several weeks and has been throwing with less velocity. The eight-year veteran described the problem as shoulder fatigue, according to Schneider.

In his start Friday versus the Texas Rangers , Cease's fastball was clocked as low as 90 mph, and he pitched only 2 2/3 innings in a 7-1 loss . He finished with 6 walks and 3 strikeouts, allowing 1 earned run and 6 hits.

"It wasn't alarming enough to say, 'Hey, I can't pitch,' and was hoping to kind of come out of it," Schneider said, via The Athletic , "But just really hasn't bounced back. So I think [we] just said, 'All right, let's take a look at it.'"

Cease, 30, is in the first year of a seven-year, $210 million contract he signed with the Blue Jays in November.

He is second in the AL with a 2.40 ERA and trails only Milwaukee 's Jacob Misiorowski among MLB pitchers with 239 strikeouts. Overall, he has an 11-6 record in 29 starts and 169 innings pitched.