The Toronto Blue Jays placed right-hander Dylan Cease on the 15-day injured list Sept. 23 with right shoulder inflammation.
The team finished 79-83, last in the American League East, missing the postseason.
The organization’s offseason started early. General manager Ross Atkins said Wednesday that “everything needs to be assessed.”
Cease was a Cy Young Award contender. He went 11-6 with a 2.40 ERA in 29 starts, striking out 239 batters in 169 innings.
The 30-year-old is now focused on rehabilitating his shoulder. He detailed his offseason plans Friday to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
Dylan Cease Will Work on Spirituality
Cease plans to work on his spirituality while he rehabilitates his shoulder. He plans to visit the ashram of Sadhguru, a renowned spiritual leader, in southern India.
“I’m going to southern India, where Sadhguru, a Yogi, his ashram is,” he said. “I’m going to maybe spend like two weeks there, or something like that. They have such an interesting spiritual culture there, up and down the country. It’s incredible.”
Sadhguru founded the Isha Foundation in 1992. Cease began following Sadhguru’s teachings as a White Sox minor leaguer. He has visited the Isha Institute of Inner-sciences in Tennessee during past offseasons.
From there, Cease will turn to baseball preparation. His stated intention is to “just work on my body, get everything ready.”
“A focal point will ‘definitely be shoulder work,’ but he said he doesn’t need any medical intervention beyond that. ‘Just rest and working out will probably take care of it.’” Davidi reported.
“There were definitely a lot of positives,” Cease said of his season.
“Right now I kind of just have a bitter taste in my mouth because I didn’t finish very strong. But I learned a lot about many different facets of the game, and it was very encouraging to have such strong spurts of success, as well. Now I want to take a look back, figure out how I can be more consistent and just continue to improve my skill.”
Blue Jays Face Decision on Ernie Clement
The Toronto Star called second baseman Ernie Clement a potential non-tender candidate in its season-ending report card. Star writer Gregor Chisholm wrote that Clement could earn at least $7 million through arbitration.
A team that does not tender a contract to an arbitration-eligible player makes him a free agent. The Blue Jays must decide before the non-tender deadline.
Atkins said Wednesday that Clement must earn the starting second base job in 2027. He added that Clement always has.
Clement was the American League’s top vote-getter and started the All-Star Game at second base. He hit .296 before the All-Star break and .203 after it.
Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease Makes Personal Announcement After Missing Postseason