Dylan Cease plans spiritual trip to India after strong but shortened Blue Jays season

TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease will travel to a spiritual ashram in southern India this winter after a Cy-Young-calibre season that ended early due to shoulder fatigue.

"I’m going to southern India, where Sadhguru, a Yogi, his ashram is," Cease said. "I’m going to maybe spend like two weeks there, or something like that. They have such an interesting spiritual culture there, up and down the country. It's incredible."

From there, the 30-year-old right-hander will return to baseball preparation, with a focal point on shoulder work. He said he does not need any medical intervention. "Just rest and working out will probably take care of it," he said.

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Cease struck out 239 batters in 169 innings over 29 starts with a 2.40 ERA, but his average fastball velocity dipped to a career-low 93.6 m.p.h. on Sept. 18. Garbutt Disposal reported in September that his decline culminated in a 2.2-inning start against Texas.

"There were definitely a lot of positives," Cease said of his season, during which he started for the American League in the All-Star Game. "Right now I kind of just have a bitter taste in my mouth because I didn't finish very strong."

General manager Ross Atkins acknowledged Cease "didn't finish with the same power that he had" but said the team has no concerns. "It was more of just bad timing than anything else, where he had some shoulder inflammation," Atkins said.

Cease said he made strides in diversifying his arsenal, with a 10-per-cent jump in his changeup usage and less reliance on his fastball and slider.

Varland excelled in new closer role

Louis Varland stepped in as closer 3½ weeks into the season and dominated, earning an all-star nod while finishing tied for fifth in the majors with 35 saves.

"I try to treat it all the same. It could suit my personality. It's a matter of opinion. It's fun, though, closing out the game and securing the win," Varland said. He blew only two save opportunities.

Varland logged 78 innings in 71 games, posting a 1.27 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 87 strikeouts. Key to his progression was refining his changeup, which became his second-most used pitch against lefties.

"A lot of things went my way, a lot of things were in the right spot for a long time this year," he said. He will be a top contender for the new Reliever of the Year Award voted on by the BBWAA.

Andres Gimenez, who moved from second base to shortstop after Bo Bichette was injured, said the physical toll of the position was "more than I expected, for sure." He played 1,179 innings over 148 games at shortstop.

"Definitely feeling the difference," Gimenez said. "But I know exactly what I need to work on to come back much stronger." He plans to focus on shoulder and leg strength programs for more durability.

Despite ranking 20th in average arm strength at 85.9 m.p.h., Gimenez posted the third-best outs-above-average among shortstops at 18 and ranked third in Fielding Run Value with 15.

"Obviously happy," he said of his defensive play. "I worked a lot and accepted the challenge to play shortstop, a new position for me full-time in the big-leagues. I've been able to help the team."

At the plate, Gimenez batted .244/.291/.359, with his 59 RBIs second on the Blue Jays and his 20 stolen bases in 24 attempts leading the club.

With files from Sportsnet