Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease says he won’t need surgery after MRI

Dylan Cease told reporters on Monday that he will not need surgery for the right shoulder fatigue he’s experiencing, but remains in “limbo” on the next steps.

Cease flew from Texas to Toronto on Saturday for an MRI on his shoulder.

“Pretty encouraging,” manager John Schneider said Monday of the results from the imaging. “Nothing structural, just showed some inflammation, which is a good thing. He’s not going to make the start Wednesday, and we’re going to take it day-by-day to see how he feels.

“The goal was to get him feeling closer to himself, and if that’s the case and we need to win a game down the stretch, I think he’ll be good to go.”

The 30-year-old right-hander told Schneider that he had been experiencing “fatigue, not pain” for a few weeks. It was decided that he would miss his next start against the Baltimore Orioles due to the issue.

Cease’s average fastball velocity has steadily been declining since May, and has been especially noticeable since a July 25 start against the Boston Red Sox, where he started the game throwing below 93 m.p.h.

The 93.6 m.p.h. Cease averaged against the Rangers on Friday was his lowest velocity for a single game of his career by nearly a full mile per hour. He also threw the two slowest fastballs of his career.

Cease also set career highs of 118 and 120 pitches in no-hit bids against the San Francisco Giants and Red Sox, respectively, in July.