Blue Jays set the starting pitcher market for Angels after Dylan Cease signing

Even after adding Grayson Rodriguez for Taylor Ward, the Los Angeles Angels still need to add starting pitching. If the organization wanted to add an ace in order to appropriately slot down Yusei Kikuchi, Rodriguez, José Soriano and Reid Detmers, they now know exactly what it will cost them.

Blue Jays set the starting pitcher market for Angels after Dylan Cease signing

Dylan Cease, the No. 1 starting pitcher on the market, just signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for seven-years and $210 million -- likely a standard $30 million average annual value. With Cease off the board, the following free agent aces will follow: Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Michael King, Zac Gallen and Tatsuya Imai.

The Angels might be in the market for these caliber of starters after the news of Anthony Rendon's buyout plus trading Taylor Ward. They already have around $40 million to spend before the Rendon buyout fallout. Those five starters could easily be out of the Angels' window to spend even with ditching both Rendon and Ward.

Cease was never a plausible signing for the Halos, meeting the price and offering up a compensatory draft pick for a player never meets the Angels criteria of who they want to add. Remaining in the camp of acquiring pre-arb pitchers like G-Rod is the sweet spot, but they can throw some money around without losing draft slot value.

If the Angels want to trade for a starter in the same tier as Sonny Gray, they would have to give up prospect value akin to Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts. If they want to eat the salary of a top-tier starter, they would not have to match the future value of those two Red Sox arms. The Angels might not meet the standards for a Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera or Mackenzie Gore trade, but they could go out and trade for Mitch Keller, Kodai Senga or a Pablo López.

The five starters they have now in Kikucki, Rodriguez, Soriano, Detmers and Caden Dana are fine, but they could use an addition like Tyler Mahle or Zack Littell to stabilize the unit. A big ticket item is ideal, but Cease was easily the best possible option for 2026 and beyond. At least Perry Minasian and his front office now know what it will take value-wise (prospects or money) to acquire a perfect fit.