Would the San Diego Padres consider trading Dylan Cease this winter?

It was talked about last week on Ben and Woods (97.3 FM) that the San Diego Padres may explore trading Dylan Cease this winter.

This seems really unrealistic, but let’s explore the topic.

I understand the concept. Of all the Padres’ current tradeable assets, he has arguably the most value. Coming into his last season under contract, Cease may be traded by the Padres for a decent haul. Or at least that is the thought process.

However, any return for Cease would not necessarily provide more value than what he brings to the team presently. The Padres need starting pitching. Trading their most consistent starter seems foolish.

Joe Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago. He is done for the 2025 season.

Yu Darvish is getting up there in age and coming off a year in which he endured nagging injuries. The Padres have Michael King under contract for next season, but he is a free agent after the year. Bryan Hoeing, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, Matt Waldron, and even Adrian Morejon are potential options for the Friars, but none are a lock for the 2025 rotation.

Losing Dylan Cease would be a difficult pill to swallow.

The premise isn’t impossible, though.

If the Padres were able to find a trade partner with multiple starting pitchers being sent back to San Diego, it makes some sense. However, you would be hard-pressed to find a franchise willing to move potential pitching for one year of service time that Cease has on his contract. This seems unlikely.

Another scenario is where the Padres could trade Cease if they were to sign a high-profile free agent. If, say, Japanese phenom Roki Saski were to be posted and made available, then the Padres could conceivably deal Cease for prospects and use his potential money towards their new free agent. That seems unfeasible, though. The team needs to save money. They don’t need to upgrade one starting pitcher and invest more money in the coming season. They need multiple arms, and the Padres are looking to do it on a budget.

The Padres need starting pitching and will likely not trade Cease, who will be undervalued next season in terms of his contract. The right-handed pitcher will likely make around $11-12 million next year in the last of his contract. On the open market, it is safe to say Cease will command at least $20 million per season. Scott Boras will make sure that happens.

His contract is a bargain, and the Padres need to save money. It seems like a slam dunk that Cease remains with San Diego.

If the Padres keep him coming into the season, they would also have two options.

The Padres could trade Cease at the trade deadline in 2025 if they were out of the running. I know that is not what you want to hear, but you need to be prepared for any scenario if you are A.J. Preller. He would be in huge demand next July. The Padres could also elect to keep Cease for the whole 2025 season and potentially obtain a compensation pick if he were to leave after the year. Obtaining an extra pick in the 2026 MLB Draft is somewhat enticing.

At this point, there is a low likelihood of a Cease trade.

Anything can happen, though. A.J. Preller and his staff definitely think outside the box.

However, this would only happen if the Padres were to replace him with two viable pitchers.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.