Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Could Snatch $109 Million Padres Star With Unexpected Blockbuster Trade

Another starting pitcher thrown into the mix in Boston?
Jackson Roberts|
Jun 17, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; A detail view of a San Diego Padres hat on a glove in the dugout in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Jun 17, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; A detail view of a San Diego Padres hat on a glove in the dugout in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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Boston Red Sox

The old adage in Major League Baseball is that you can never have too much pitching. Should the Boston Red Sox test that theory?

So far, the biggest additions of the winter for the Red Sox have all come on the starting pitching front. New ace Garrett Crochet is the headliner, but Walker Buehler will also have a spot in the rotation, where he might be joined later in the year by Patrick Sandoval.

With all the new additions, the Red Sox have six healthy rotation options to begin the year, with Sandoval looming as a potential seventh. Does that mean Boston should be done looking to upgrade its starters?

If not, the Red Sox may have a real opportunity in front of them. San Diego Padres star Dylan Cease is widely speculated to be available in trades this winter, as he enters the final season of team control and San Diego faces continued financial uncertainty.

On Friday, FanSided's Christopher Kline proposed that the Red Sox could swing a trade for Cease before the season begins.

"Cease would take the Red Sox' rotation to the next level. All of a sudden, Boston has two potential Cy Young candidates to lead the way — and two of MLB's most dominant arms," Kline wrote.

"Whereas Crochet has some real durability concerns, Cease is among the most dependable workhorses in baseball. He has made at least 32 starts and pitched 165-plus innings in four straight seasons. This would be money for the Red Sox."

Cease, 29, had a 3.47 ERA in 189 2/3 innings last season, finishing third in MLB with 224 strikeouts. He, Crochet, and Lucas Giolito were once teammates with the Chicago White Sox, and all three could conceivably be new contributors to the Boston rotation if a trade were to happen.

With a $13.75 million salary this season and $109 million extension projection from Spotrac, Cease could be a bargain. He'll have at least a few more years of dominant strikeout numbers in front of him as long as he can stay on the mound.

More MLB: Red Sox Trade Idea Lands Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. In 3-Player Shuffle

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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