After one former White Sox player was moved late Tuesday night, could another soon be following?
According to multiple reports, the Padres have been exploring Dylan Cease’s trade market at the Winter Meetings. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the team is looking to lower their payroll commitments in 2025 and has engaged in talks that range from “trying to unload Cease” to being “open to” trading the right-hander.
Among the known teams checking in on the once-White Sox ace are the Red Sox and Orioles. Boston, in particular, has added pressure to land a premium starting pitcher after missing out on Max Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees on Tuesday. Though the Red Sox are currently focused on pursuing free agent Corbin Burnes, they could be forced to make a strong push for Garrett Crochet or Cease depending on how things play out. Baltimore reportedly has fading hope that Burnes returns to them in free agency, making it possible they finally part ways with their prospect depth to keep pace in the AL East.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi proposed an interesting concept earlier this morning, suggesting Padres GM AJ Preller could move Cease for prospects to better position the team for a play at Crochet. This would result in giving away Cease’s last year of control for two of Crochet, who is on the hook for only $2.9 million in 2025 and a presumably similar, arbitration-pending amount in 2026.
Cease, 28, put together a strong 2024 campaign on the West Coast after being traded by the White Sox in March. Highlighted by his no-hitter against the Nationals, the right-hander posted a 3.47 ERA, 10.65 K/9, 3.10 FIP, and 1.067 WHIP in 189.1 innings thrown. These results led him to a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting and 22nd in the league’s MVP voting.
As noted previously, Cease is in the final year of his contract with the Padres and is projected to earn $13 million. With all signs pointing to the starting pitcher bypassing early extension talks to test his free agent market next offseason, it makes sense for the Padres to do their due diligence and explore his trade value. Though he may end up staying in San Diego, the franchise has a chance to better position themselves while cutting costs.
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