San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller never ceases to amaze. Exactly a week before they open up the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Korea, the Padres have pulled off a blockbuster trade.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report that San Diego was close to acquiring Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease in a blockbuster trade on Wednesday.
Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports that the White Sox will receive multiple notable prospects back in return. That includes No. 5 Padres prospect Drew Thorpe and No. 8 prospect Jairo Iriarte. Both are starting pitchers heading back to Chicago in the deal.
This move gives San Diego a true ace with reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell still on the MLB free agent market. The 28-year-old Cease now joins a new-look rotation that also includes Michael King and Jhony Brito. Both were acquired from the New York Yankees in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade this past winter.
Dylan Cease career stats: 43-35 record, 3.83 ERA, 1.31 WHIP
This past season saw Cease pitch to a 7-9 record with a 4.58 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. That came after a 2022 campaign in which he posted a 2.20 ERA and 1.11 WHIP en route to finishing second in the AL Cy Young voting.
Related: San Diego Padres 2024 MLB season preview
Impact on the San Diego Padres acquiring Dylan Cease
It’s more than clear that San Diego is not going into rebuild mode by making this move. The team still hopes to contend with the aforementioned Dodgers and reigning National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks out west.
Cease will slot in as the No. 1 in San Diego ahead of veterans Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrave. This move also likely pushes Matt Waldron to a long-relief role after it was noted earlier in the week that he had the inside shot at the fifth spot in the rotation.