The San Diego Padres are coming off a disappointing season that saw them finish third in the NL West last year going 82-80. They are looking to find ways to improve their roster to try and bounce back in what appears to be a very tough NL West this year. The Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Giants have all been making moves this off-season to improve their rosters, while the Padres have been less active and appear to be losing Free Agent LHP Blake Snell as well. The team also Traded Juan Soto this offseason to the Yankees which has hurt their lineup as well.
How to Help the Starting Rotation?
RHP – Dylan Cease
Cease was rumored early this offseason to be a target of several teams looking to add pitching help while teams waited for the big FA pitchers to make their decisions. Dyland Cease would fit nicely into this Padres rotation and giving him actual run support and improved defense could end up improving his overall stats on the season as well. A rotation of Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, and Michael King as your top four allows this team to compete in the West this year. Cease has spent his five-year career with the Chicago White Sox. Last season he started 33 games, went 7-9, over 177 innings, and struck out 214 batters with 79 walks and an ERA of 4.58. The ERA was the highest since his rookie season, in 2022 his ERA was 2.20. Dylan Cease being a two or three compared to being the ACE might provide him with better pitching matchups and the improved surrounding support can only help his overall numbers if acquired by the Padres.
Summary
If the Padres can pull off this move as rumored, then I think they can make a push to win 88 games this year and push for a wild card spot. As we saw last year anything can happen in October. Dylan Cease is going to be traded this season regardless, the Padres would be wise to make the move now and perhaps move one of their many SS in the farm system to pry him away from the White Sox, the addition of Cease also lets him pitch immediately compared to signing a free agent who will need to take a few weeks working up the arm strength and stamina while missing Spring Training.
