Dylan Cease's Shoulder MRI Hits the Panic Button on the Blue Jays' Season

Dylan Cease is dealing with shoulder inflammation, which is the exact medical term for what happens when you carry a pitching staff for six months straight. The Toronto Blue Jays ace was sent back home for an MRI this weekend, officially hitting the panic button on a season that was supposed to end in October.

Cease is already scratched from his scheduled Wednesday start against the Baltimore Orioles. Manager John Schneider is holding out hope for the final regular-season series against the Cincinnati Reds, but you do not send a guy for a tube scan in late September just for a quick tune-up.

"MLB Trade Rumors reported Cease is dealing with shoulder inflammation."

The warning signs were flashing neon during Friday's 7-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. Cease looked completely lost, throwing 74 pitches to get just eight outs while handing out a season-high six walks. That is not a bad night at the office. That is a guy whose arm is screaming for a vacation.

This could not happen at a worse time for Toronto. The Blue Jays are fighting for their lives in the American League Wild Card race, and losing a guy with an 11-6 record and a 2.40 ERA is the kind of blow that ruins a franchise's winter. He also leads the AL with 239 strikeouts, meaning this shoulder issue just handed the AL Cy Young award to Cam Schlittler on a silver platter.

Anyone holding a futures ticket on Toronto to make a deep run might want to look away. A rotation without its top dog completely changes the math for a short playoff series, assuming they even get there now.

The Blue Jays are waiting on the MRI results to decide if they shut him down completely. If the imaging shows anything worse than general fatigue, Toronto's front office will have to wrap their seven-year investment in bubble wrap and start planning for spring training.