The Toronto Blue Jays are placing right-hander Dylan Cease on the 15-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, manager John Schneider announced Monday, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.
The team will make a corresponding roster move in the next few days. Cease's next start had been scheduled for Friday at Baltimore.
He left Sunday's start against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning after sustaining the injury and underwent an MRI following the game.
Dylan Cease left his start with a trainer in the fifth inning pic.twitter.com/tGYF23pKTK
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 24, 2026
This is the first IL stint of Cease's eight-year career.
The 30-year-old said Sunday that he was hoping to make his next start on schedule, and the Blue Jays were optimistic that he'd avoided a serious injury. Although he'll now miss at least two turns in the rotation, the team remains hopeful that Cease will make a quick return.
"It doesn't look too terrible, knock on wood," Schneider said, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "Just trying to be smart and not have it get worse. Don't know the exact timeline yet. ... Hoping it's a minimal stay."
Cease joined the Blue Jays on a seven-year, $210-million deal this past winter and has been one of the team's most dependable starters in the first two months of the season. He sports a 3.05 ERA and 1.21 WHIP along with an AL-leading 92 strikeouts and 13.4 K/9 rate across 11 starts.
His injury is yet another blow to a Blue Jays rotation that's been decimated since Opening Day. Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer both landed on the IL early in the year, Shane Bieber has yet to pitch because of an elbow issue, and José Berríos is out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Rookie left-hander Adam Macko, who's been working out of the bullpen since his call-up last week, could replace Cease in the rotation. Jake Bloss, CJ Van Eyk, Josh Fleming, or Austin Voth, all of whom are at Triple-A Buffalo, are also potential options. Of those four, only Bloss is currently on Toronto's 40-man roster.
The Blue Jays also updated the status of star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who left Sunday's game after taking a HBP off his elbow. He isn't in the starting lineup Monday against the Miami Marlins because of elbow soreness and is considered day-to-day, Schneider said, according to Davidi. However, he could be available to pinch-hit, according to Nicholson-Smith.
Toronto also activated outfielder Nathan Lukes from the 10-day IL while optioning Davis Schneider to Triple-A.
