Padres Had Strongest Package 'By a Lot' for Dylan Cease: Report
The San Diego Padres came somewhat out of nowhere in the Dylan Cease sweepstakes.
Cease had been a rumored trade target since last year, but the Padres were rarely a team mentioned as a potential landing spot.
However, on Wednesday, Padres general manager AJ Preller worked fast to get a deal done just before the team left Peoria for Korea.
The Padres traded four players for Cease — the team's No. 5 prospect Drew Thorpe, No. 7 prospect Samuel Zavala, No. 8 prospect Jairo Iriarte and right-handed reliever Steven Wilson.
According to former general manager and MLB insider for The Athletic Jim Bowden, that package was the strongest "by a lot."
"The Padres ended up with the strongest package by a lot I was told based on what the Rangers and Yankees were offering for Dylan Cease," Bowden said to MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.
The Yankees had been linked with Cease all offseason long, but it had been reported that they didn't want to part with top outfield prospect Spencer Jones.
Nothing has been reported regarding the Rangers' package, but according to Bowden, it wasn't near what the Padres were offering.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the White Sox were extensively scouting the Padres this spring, and clearly, they liked what they saw enough to make a deal happen.
The Padres were able to bring in a top of the rotation pitcher, and didn't have to part with any of their top prospects.
On the flip side, the White Sox recouped three top 10 prospects and a solid major league reliever.
Preller has never shied away from the big trade, and this offseason was no different.
After trading away superstar Juan Soto this offseason, he used one of the key prospects acquired in Thorpe to turn around and get Cease.
