Padres Rumors: MLB Insider Provides Update on Dylan Cease Trade

The San Diego Padres have had a quiet offseason.

Through the lack of major league acquisitions, the failed Roki Sasaki sweepstakes, and now losing Tanner Scott — both of which ending up on the Dodgers — the Padres need to make some serious reinforcements to their roster.

San Diego made it to the very end of the NLDS with the eventual champions and were just a few runs away from moving on to the NLCS. The current roster has proven to go toe-to-toe with the would-be champions of baseball, but fans don't want to just be able to compete, they want to win.

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Just a brutal offseason for the Padres.

They’ve made 0 major league additions.

They put all their eggs in Roki Sasaki’s basket, who chose the rival Dodgers.

The Dodgers also added Blake Snell.

The Padres still need to shed payroll and are in the midst of an ownership feud.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) January 17, 2025

The Dodgers are not the only team retooling, as looking around the league and seeing even more teams improve while San Diego remains stagnant is deeply concerning. When Opening Day arrives in a few months, last year's record and accomplishments are meaningless.

Right-hander Dylan Cease was recently signed to a one-year, $13.75 million deal to avoid arbitration. He is a name that is thrown around when it comes to dealing current talent to avoid breaking the bank on free agents.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand recently reported on Cease in regards to the current pitching market in MLB.

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"Given the need for starting pitching around the league, the Padres would likely be open to trading Cease if they can find a team willing to part with controllable players and/or prospects."

It is not a question that San Diego is more than willing to move on from Cease. However, to not only acquire enough assets to where the trade is worth it, while also following through on a deal that improves the roster may be harder to find.

If the worst case-scenario is Cease remaining in the rotation, it doesn't really appear to be all that bad given his numbers last season.

During his first year in San Diego, the 29-year-old went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA. In the most innings pitched of his career, 189.1, he threw 224 strikeouts to only 65 walks.