Clean-shaven Dylan Cease surprises Blue Jays fans with new look during IL stint

Starter compared to Geddy Lee, actors Tom Hiddleston, Cillian Murphy after shaving gunslinger mustache

Published May 26, 2026  •  2 minute read

Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on during the third inning of a game against the Chicago White Sox. Photo by Justin Casterline /Getty Images

Was that a new recruit ’stached away in the dugout on Tuesday night awaiting a chance to help the injury-riddled Toronto Blue Jays?

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Nope, sorry.

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And apologies to the folks on social media, but that was not Canadian rock icon Geddy Lee or actors Tom Hiddleston or Cillian Murphy paying a visit to the clubhouse either.

Blue Jays fans – and at least one reporter – were forced to do a double-take during the broadcast of their game against the Miami Marlins at Rogers Centre after a clean-cut Dylan Cease showed up without his gunslinger mustache.

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“Who do we have here?” Sportsnet reporter Hazel Mae jokingly posted on social media followed by a video captioned with an eye-popping emoji.

It even caught the attention of the play-by-play team with Joe Siddall asking Dan Shulman: “Who’s the new guy?”

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Mixed reaction from fans

She was not the only person who seemed to be shocked by the injured starter’s new look.

“Omg he looks like Geddy Lee!” one user on X said in a reply to Mae’s video. “Put it back on!”

“Maybe it was his moustache that was injured!” another said, referring to Cease’s recent stint on the injured list.

Another user seemed to suggest the new look could be a performance booster.

“Aerodynamics obviously,” they said.

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Won’t see him on the mound soon

Whatever the reason, fans will have to wait at least two weeks for the new-look Cease to take the mound again for the Blue Jays.

The former American League Cy Young Award finalist was placed on the IL on Monday with a mild hamstring strain after leaving his Sunday start against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning.

The loss was another blow to a Blue Jays rotation that will be without Cody Ponce (knee) and Jose Berrios (elbow) for the rest of the season and with Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer lingering on the IL as well.

Stud pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann had also dealt with left elbow soreness in the spring.

To make matters worse, Cease has arguably been the Blue Jays’ top player so far this season with a team-leading 1.9 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. Despite a 3-3 record, he owns a 3.05 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a career-high 13.1 strikeouts per inning.

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