Should The Mets Trade Luisangel Acuna For Padres' Dylan Cease?

The New York Mets have spoken to the San Diego Padres about ace Dylan Cease and righty Michael King, who both have only one more year of team control.

Sources: Mets have spoken to the Padres about Dylan Cease and Michael King who are available via trade

Braves, among others, are also interested in both arms

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— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) January 29, 2025

Each starter will likely cost a lot to acquire, specifically Cease after the hurler finished fourth in the NL Cy Young race in 2024.

Per sources, the Padres are asking teams for at least three top 25 prospects for the 29-year-old Cease. King is expected to draw a lesser package.

But what if the Mets decide they want to load up the front of their rotation before Opening Day? Landing Cease would be the way they could do so in order to bring in a bonafide ace.

The NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies just traded for lefty starter Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins to pair with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Aaron Nola. Luzardo, who has two years of team control remaining, cost the Phillies their No. 4 and No. 23 ranked prospects.

The reigning World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers have Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. The Atlanta Braves have taken a bit of a hit after losing Max Fried to the Yankees, Charlie Morton to the Baltimore Orioles, and Spencer Strider to Tommy John surgery, but Atlanta still has Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach.

The Mets would have Cease, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes in a six-man rotation. That looks like a unit that can frustrate opposing hitters throughout the regular season and matchup well against the Phillies, Braves or Dodgers in a postseason series.

For Cease, the Mets could potentially create a package by selling high on the exciting Luisangel Acuna, their No. 12 ranked prospect, who overcame a rough season at the plate in Triple-A Syracuse to ignite energy and provide value in a brief stint in the majors in September while filling in for an injured Francisco Lindor.

That's not an easy task for a 22-year-old who had zero big-league experience. The Mets are realistic that Acuna's success in the majors was a small sample size (14 games, .308 average, .966 OPS, three home runs), but he is a smooth and versatile fielder and brings blistering speed to the base paths. They also have made it clear that they expect him to play a big role this upcoming season and were impressed with what he showed in the stretch run in 2024. Acuna's impact helped the Mets clinch a Wild Card berth in a tight race, filling in nicely for Lindor for a little over a week.

Carlos Mendoza says Luisangel Acuña will have a "huge role" on the 2025 Mets

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— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) January 25, 2025

That said, people who are familiar with the thinking of Padres head of baseball operations and GM A.J. Preller believe Acuna is the type of player he would love to acquire. The Padres don't have a long-term shortstop given the departure of Ha-Seong Kim to the Tampa Bay Rays, as well as Xander Bogaerts being a better fit defensively at second base.

Acuna could very well be the budget constrained Padres' Opening Day shortstop, especially if San Diego is able to trade Luis Arraez and stick Jake Cronenworth at first base.

The change in Padres' ownership power following the death of Peter Seidler has caused a major ripple effect and has created a major shift in payroll flexibility and willingness to spend.

Preller, who is known to be aggressive when it comes to building a roster, doesn't like to rebuild and Acuna has brief major league success, big stage and high-leverage experience and he is also the younger brother of Braves MVP right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr.

It'd be a tough call to ship out a young controllable position player that can be electrifying at his best in Luisangel Acuna in exchange for a rental starter in Cease.

However, this is Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns' second year in Queens and he didn't draft nor acquire Acuna, former GM Billy Eppler did in the trade that sent Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers at the 2023 MLB trade deadline.

Stearns could decide to sell-high on Acuna and maybe package a controllable major league arm such as Tylor Megill or Jose Butto, outfielder/DH Starling Marte and possibly an additional lower level prospect for Cease.

Cease is set to make $13.75 million in 2025 and Marte is making $20.75 million. The Mets are willing to pay down a portion of Marte's salary in a trade and have already attempted to deal him this offseason. By swapping their salaries, the Mets could send an additional $7 million at least to offset the players' deals. The Padres need a left fielder after Jurickson Profar signed with the Braves.

Selling a controllable asset with high upside in Acuna is a tough call for a one-year rental, but there could be regression at the plate. Acuna had a poor season offensively in Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets and Padres line up well as trade partners and San Diego like the Mets' farm system.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has the ear of team owner Steve Cohen and told management that he wants free agent first baseman Pete Alonso back, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

Bringing back Alonso and acquiring Cease would put the finishing touches on an all-in blueprint after landing Juan Soto in December.

To me, the Mets probably feel like they have enough pitching and depth to survive the first-half of the season. If they feel they have a real shot to win a title by July or their rotation is dealing with injuries, a deal at the trade deadline for Cease on an expiring contract for less than a full-season would cost less in pieces for New York.

For that, a trade for Cease appears to be unlikely at this point. But should Alonso return, the Mets will have more flexibility to make a trade elsewhere if first base is addressed.

The Mets have been considering Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle and Tigers' Spencer Torkelson as first base options on the trade market. They also checked in on Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz recently.

Mets have checked in on Rays 1B Yandy Diaz, sources tell Mets On SI

Plus a minor Pete Alonso update, Ryan Brasier interest, Mountcastle, Torkelson, Blue Jays detailshttps://t.co/8SqSUmiPdd
— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) January 31, 2025

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