Braves Insider Suggests Move for Padres, Georgia Native Starting Pitcher

We’re closing on when pitchers and catchers report, and we still await the Atlanta Braves' first major acquisition of the offseason. No matter who is off the board or if there have been substantial rumors, it hasn’t stopped the writers from making their suggestions for this potential move.

The Atheltic’s David O’Brien made his case on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday for San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease. He likes the idea of the Atlanta-area native joining the rotation and included some of his numbers from last season in order to make that case.

“I keep thinking a trade for Padres' Dylan Cease makes a lot of sense for Braves,” he tweeted,” with the Milton High grad set to make $13.75 [million] in last year before free agency and [San Diego] reportedly entertaining offers as they continue other pursuits. He had 224 [strikeouts] & 3.47 ERA in 189 1/3 [innings pitched] in 2024.”

In the replies, he sees this move as a rental.

“Getting guys like him on expiring or one-year contracts been a thing for [general manager Alex Anthopoulos] and [the] Braves,” he added.

O’Brien did not indicate if the Braves are currently interested in Cease. This is opposed to when he suggested signing Cease’s 2024 Padres teammate Tanner Scott and confirmed an interest in the relief pitcher.

Cease was just traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Padres last offseason after five seasons on the southside. In his lone season in San Diego, he finished in the top four in Cy Young voting for the second time in his career and well as receiving MVP votes.

His 189 1/3 innings and 1.06 WHIP were both a career high and his 33 starts tied a career best. His 3.47 ERA, 224 strikeouts, 4.2 WAR and 118 ERA+ were all the second-best he has had in a single season.

Despite the Cy Young votes, he’s never been an all-star. This season, it can be explained by his pre-All-Star and post-All-Star splits. Heading into the Midsummer Classic, Cease had a 4.21 ERA. The rest of the season, he had a 2.66 ERA.

However, in his 2022 season, he was consistent throughout the season. So, he’s not exactly another Blake Snell.

It would take the right move, but it doesn’t take much of an augment to determine that Cease would make for a nice addition to the Braves rotation.

Should the Padres win the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes, this would open the door further to a potential trade.