It sure sounds like teams are wasting their time trying to pry Cease from the Padres

One of the bigger storylines remaining before MLB Spring Training starts is if the San Diego Padres will come down on their astronomical asking price of ace Dylan Cease. For 2025, the 29-year-old hurler is owed $13.75 million in his final year before reaching free agency next winter. Sources familiar with the situation (per Kevin Acee) have stated that Cease is likely to stay put, which makes sense given that no one was going to pay the premium asked.

"Multiple sources have said King is essentially off the trade block, and word is Cease is increasingly likely to stay. But Suarez appears to be another story," Acee wrote.

We know teams such as the Mets and Cubs had inquired. For the Mets, It was Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, and Luisangel Acuna. It's not a realistic offer for just one year of Cease, who is undoubtedly headed toward free agency nine months from now. With the Cubs, the Padres asked for Matt Shaw, which they knew should have been a non-starting point.

Essentially, Cease is available for the right price if you're comfortable letting the Padres rob you blind. That isn't the case with any team looking for another starter.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

If the Padres are losing, teams will revisit Dylan Cease trade at the deadline

At his best, Cease is an ace with elite strike-out numbers who will give you 30+ starts. He immediately slides to the front of any team's rotation. He finished second in Cy Young voting in 2022 and 4th in 2024. Last year, he posted a 3.47 ERA (3.10 FIP) over 33 starts and 189.1 frames. Not to take away from Cease, but he has yet to repeat his 2.20 ERA with the White Sox in 2022, which was the season that put him on the map.

Cease has recorded an even 4.00 ERA in the past two seasons combined. Yes, the ceiling of an elite player is there. However, so is the floor. Cease performed admirably in the second half of 2024 with a 2.66 ERA, but his road ERA away from Petco Park sat at an "I'm not giving up two top-100 prospects for this" 3.83 ERA for the year.

We will see how Cease performs in 2025, and at that point, if the Padres are losing out to the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, it will be interesting to see where they sit in the Wild Card race. If they're on the outside looking in, it would be wise to move Cease, who, if he is having a good season, will at least fetch you one top-100 prospect at the deadline.

It would be ill-advised for the Padres to simply receive draft pick compensation instead of a stud prospect already making his way through the minor league system. Cease will resoundingly decline a qualifying offer next winter if he isn't dealt in-season, making this a challenging situation for San Diego and one where they can't afford to play hardball all year.