Dylan Cease‘s time in Chicago is over. The San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox finalized a trade for Dylan Cease. The right-hander has been in the trade rumor discussion throughout the offseason. Once the deal is complete, it will end a chapter of baseball’s top storylines of the offseason. General manager Chris Getz made clear that he was willing to consider offers on virtually everyone on the roster, making the 28-year-old the top name on the trade board.
TRADE DETAILS
Padres receive: RHP Dylan Cease
White Sox receive: RHP Drew Thorpe, OF Samuel Zavala, RHP Jairo Iriarte, RHP Steven Wilson
Chicago reportedly talked with the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers over the past few days. But San Diego swooped in and will get the deal done soon. The return hasn’t been announced yet.
Padres to Acquire Dylan Cease
Essentially, the Padres were finalizing their travel roster for Korea, and at the last minute, A.J. Preller said … Cease.
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) March 13, 2024
Discussions between the Padres and White Sox adds up with yesterday’s report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic where he noted that the White Sox had members of their front office present to get looks at the Padres in recent days. San Diego is a strong match for Cease considering the financial reset the club pulled off over the winter. However, the Padres aren’t in a full-scale rebuild like the White Sox. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove all have long-term deals.
Massive Strike For San Diego
With Opening Day two weeks ago, Chicago found more urgency to make a move with Cease. The defending World Series champion Rangers were deep in discussions for the Cease as they await the return of three injured pitchers- Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle. The trio will likely return after the All-Star break. Cease’s appeal, beyond his pitching talent, is that he’s under club control for two more seasons. He will earn $8 million in 2024 and is eligible for arbitration in 2025. It’s a strike for San Diego just a week before they’ll open the regular season with a two-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers in South Korea.
Cease Addresses Lack of Experience
The former sixth-round pick has been the face of the White Sox rotation since 2020. He will join a San Diego rotation that was largely unproven. Musgrove and Darvish were locked into the top two spots. Michael King was ensured of a rotation spot following a strong finish with the Yankees last season. However, King only moved to the starting staff for his final eight starts. The rest of the starting pitching options have limited MLB experience. Bringing in Cease will address that lack of depth and experience.
Chicago Gets Two Top Prospect Pitchers
Thorpe was the Padres No.5 prospect who was a part of the Juan Soto blockbuster deal. He earned the pitching Prospect of the Year Award as his numbers at High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset were superb. He led all minor league pitchers with 182 strikeouts, fourth in ERA (2.52) among qualified full-season pitchers. His walk- rate (2.45 BB/9) was second but he also led qualified pitchers with a 26.9 percent K-BB%. It won’t be long before Thorpe will make his major league debut. If he shines in the minors, don’t be surprised if the White Sox called him up sooner than later.
Iriarte had a breakout campaign in 2023, dividing the year across High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio. He worked mostly as a starter, pitching to a 3.49 ERA in 90 1/3 innings over 27 appearances. The right-hander still needs time to develop as a strike-thrower as his best route remains in a starting role. Given the ceiling his swing-and-miss arsenal can provide, it proves why. But if the walks keep piling up, he could revert to relief where he can still get batters from both boxes out.
Main Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
