Padres Acquire Dylan Cease in Blockbuster Trade With White Sox
The likelihood of a Dylan Cease trade materializing had been gaining momentum with each passing day this week, and now it appears the Chicago White Sox ace will head to the San Diego Padres.
Cease has reportedly been dealt to the Padres as part of a blockbuster deal, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Wednesday. Multiple notable prospects are expected to be sent to the White Sox as part of the trade.
Amidst a full-scale rebuild, the White Sox fielded calls regarding their ace throughout the off-season. But they ultimately decided against pulling the trigger, likely due to teams failing to reach their exorbitant asking price.
Many believed that meant Cease would remain with the club through Opening Day, with trade talks expected to reignite closer to this summer’s trade deadline. However, it appears that’s no longer the case.
Heading to Chicago are RHP Drew Thorpe, RHP Jairo Iriarte, OF Samuel Zavala, and RHP Steven Wilson to restock a White Sox farm system that was short on intriguing prospects in recent years.
The Texas Rangers are one team who recently spoke with the White Sox regarding Cease, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Tuesday night. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale believed the New York Yankees were also involved, with the Bronx Bombers updating their trade proposal in recent days.
Along with that duo, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Wednesday morning the San Diego Padres had also contacted Chicago about the 2022 American League Cy Young runner-up, with one source informing him a trade could realistically occur before Opening Day – which it now has.
The obvious intrigue around Cease is any club that acquires him would add a front-line starter to its starting rotation at a measly $8 million salary in 2024. He’s also under team control through 2025, so he comes with two seasons of availability before entering free agency.
Cease, a sixth-round selection by Chicago in 2014, has spent his entire career with the White Sox organization, logging 658 innings across five big-league seasons. The 28-year-old broke out in ‘21, posting a career-high 4.5 fWAR, and hasn’t looked back since.
Despite a rocky 2023 campaign, where his strikeout ability decreased while the hard contact allowed increased, the right-hander remained one of the sport’s most effective swing-and-miss generators, as his whiff rate (31%) ranked in the 84th percentile of the majors.
The Yankees’ prior interest in Cease undoubtedly stemmed from the fact that they’ll be without ace Gerrit Cole for 1-2 months after an MRI revealed inflammation in his right elbow, first reported by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Minus Cole, New York’s rotation has quickly become top-heavy, with Marcus Stroman and Carlos Rodon sliding into the first two spots. They’ll likely be followed by Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes, leaving the final job between Cody Poteet and Luke Weaver.
The Rangers’ starting staff appears rather bleak as well, considering the reigning World Series champions will be without Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle – signed to a two-year, $22-million contract over the winter – until around or after the All-Star break.
In the meantime, Texas is on track to begin its title defence with a sub-par rotation that includes Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning and Cody Bradford – facing a less-than-ideal situation just two weeks out from Opening Day.
After saying goodbye to Blake Snell and Michael Wacha, the Padres’ rotation was also running pretty thin this spring, as Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove were the only proven starters currently residing on the roster.
But with Cease now in the fold, that concern isn’t as dire as it once was, given his arrival forms a potent trio atop their rotation.
As for the final two starting gigs, Michael King – acquired from New York in the Juan Soto trade – has been stretched out as a starter in camp. After him, there’ll now be a competition that includes Jhony Brito, Matt Waldron, Randy Vasquez, Pedro Avila and Jay Groome, among others.
Adding Cease is significant for the Padres. He should help them compete for a playoff spot, plus his inexpensive salary keeps the franchise’s payroll beneath the first luxury tax threshold of $237 million.
This move may also allow general manager A. J. Preller to add to his poor outfield depth, addressing another major need following a disappointing off-season that saw the franchise shed nearly $100 million off last season’s books.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Jmar Gambol. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.