​The Toronto Blue Jays may be without their ace starting pitcher as they pursue a playoff berth during the final week of the 2026 MLB season.Dylan Cease underwent a MRI exam on his right shoulder on Saturday night and has been scratched from his start scheduled for Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters on Sunday that Cease could be shut down for the remainder of the season.Going into Sunday’s play, Toronto (76-79) is 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..@thehazelmae and @ArdenZwelling provide the latest on Dylan Cease and the Blue Jays’ pitching plan as they try to stay alive in the AL Wild Card race. pic.twitter.com/hhaPPLdHea— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 20, 2026If Cease’s MRI shows no serious concerns, it’s possible that he could make one more start during the regular season’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 again.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.Dylan Cease 4-seam velocity by month this season:March/April: 97.8May: 97.8June: 97.4July: 96.7August: 95.8September: 94.9 pic.twitter.com/fM523yCRKH— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) September 19, 2026In his start on 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, pitching 169 innings.