Padres' Trade For Dylan Cease Pushed NL West Squad to Continue Loading Up

Eva Geitheim | Apr 4, 2024

Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

The NL West was one of the most active MLB divisions heading into the regular season, with the Arizona Diamondbacks bringing in one of the most recent additions in pitcher Jordan Montgomery. While the injury to Diamondbacks' Eduardo Rodriguez was also a motivating factor in the signing, the big offseason of the NL West contributed as well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers headlined the new addition craze by bringing in designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernández and James Paxton during their billion dollar offseason.

However, it was the San Diego Padres recent trade for pitcher Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox along with the San Francisco Giants signing Blake Snell and Matt Chapman that really motivated the Diamondbacks, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

This would make sense, as the Diamondbacks naturally want to remain in contention after their World Series run last season. In addition, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo commented after the Padres signed Cease that he wished for the top players to stop joining the NL West. While Montgomery is now joining the NL West, Lovullo can rest knowing he is on the Diamondbacks' side.

The Padres trade for Cease was certainly the team's big last-minute acquisition. So far, Cease has made one start for the Padres, a 9-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants. In 4.2 innings, Cease struck out six batters and allowed two hits, two earned runs and two walks. He is expected to be a key factor for the Padres' rotation.