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PEORIA, Ariz. – The Padres wrapped up spring training and left for Korea on Wednesday, but not before scoring a late spring blockbuster.
San Diego acquired right-hander Dylan Cease from the White Sox, the Padres announced Wednesday night, moments before their plane left for the season-opening Seoul Series next week. In exchange, they sent three of their top 10 prospects and right-handed reliever Steven Wilson to Chicago. Here is the trade in its entirety:
“It’s hard to give up the names we gave up,” Padres general manager AJ Preller said. “We think highly of Drew Thorpe, Iriarte, Zavala and Wilson. But a guy like Dylan Cease was the right pitcher at the right time for this team.”
Cease, who will earn $8 million this season, is under club control through 2025. He has posted a 3.83 ERA in five major league seasons, including a runner-up finish for the American League Cy Young Award in 2022.
The 2023 season was a down year for Cease, in which he posted a 4.58 ERA, although his peripheral numbers indicate he might have been a little unlucky. Cese recorded a 3.72 FIP, while striking out 214 batters in 177 innings. In San Diego, he will pitch against a better defense in a more pitcher-friendly environment.
A bounce-back year for Cease would greatly bolster the Padres’ rotation. He will slot in at the top alongside right-handers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, essentially replacing Blake Snell, who left via free agency. Here’s how San Diego’s rotation could line up to start the season:
Last year, the rotation posted a 3.69 ERA, best in the majors. But after losing Snell, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo, the Padres needed to bolster that group over the winter. In the trade for Juan Soto, they added four pieces: King, Brito, Randy Vásquez and Thorpe.
Still, Preller continued to search for that top-line arm that could make his rotation one of the best in the game again. He seems to have found it in Cease.
Cease arrived at Padres camp in Peoria on Thursday ahead of a scheduled flight to join the team in Korea, where the Padres open the season with two games against the Dodgers on March 20-21. The team already announced Darvish and Musgrove as starters for those games, and this move is unlikely to alter that plan.
After all, the termination has been taking place according to a different schedule. Taking the ball amid trade rumors, he pitched 3 1/3 frames in one run against the Reds on Tuesday night, raising his Cactus League ERA to 2.16.
“I think the way I pitched this spring has probably increased [the trade talk] a little bit,” Cease said after that start. “I’ve been really locked in.”
After the deal, the Padres were especially happy to have retained their top four prospects, although Thorpe, Zavala and Iriarte are all highly regarded. Pitching in major league camp for the first time this spring, both Thorpe and Iriarte were excellent. Meanwhile, Wilson emerged as one of the team’s main trainers. His absence leaves the bullpen somewhat weakened.
But the Padres felt the price was worth it for an arm like Cease. In each of the last three seasons, Cease has made his full contingent of starts, leading the American League twice in that category. He has racked up over 200 strikeouts in all of those seasons.
“He brings a lot,” Preller said. “He brings the ability to miss bats… It’s a repertoire of power, but power with durability.”
There are still plenty of questions elsewhere on a San Diego roster that experienced several big departures over the winter. The outfield is thin and the bullpen seems volatile (particularly now that the always-reliable Wilson is headed to Chicago).
But this was a roster that, entering the offseason, was plagued by rotation questions. As the Padres began their trip around the world Wednesday night, they answered those questions resoundingly.
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