MLB trade grades: Regrading the Padres-White Sox Dylan Cease trade after his no-hitter

Thursday afternoon, Dylan Cease etched his name in San Diego Padres and MLB history as he became the second San Diego Padre to ever throw a no-hitter. The Padres righty was utterly dominant over his nine no-hit innings.

Following that no-hitter, Cease is now up to 20 strikeouts, two hits allowed and zero runs over his last 22 innings, three starts. The Padres' ace is finding his way as a Cy Young candidate again and it's truly a special display of pitching talent when he does so.

With that in mind, let's dive into how he ended up in San Diego in the first place. Cease pitched the first five seasons of his big league career with the Chicago White Sox before being traded to the Padres this offseason.

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MLB Trade Grades: Regrading the Padres-White Sox Dylan Cease trade

This past Winter, the White Sox sent Cease to the Padres for a package of prospects in return. Here is that deal.

Thorpe, Chicago's third-ranked prospect, has simply been incredible in his professional career. He flew up the minor leagues and skipped Triple-A on his way to a big league mound. He's made seven starts for the White Sox and currently holds an ERA right around 3.00 and a BAA of .162. If he can handle his walks to a number less than three per nine innings, he has ace potential written all over him.

Iriarte, Chicago's ninth-ranked prospect, has looked solid at the Double-A level this year. He's thrown to a 4.34 ERA in nearly 100 innings while recording just over a strikeout an inning.

Zavala, Chicago's sixth-ranked prospect, has struggled mightily this year, slashing .195/.357/.323 with just 20 extra-base hits. He's supposed to be a prospect who can hit well over .250 as he moves up the ladder of the minor leagues, so to see him hitting under .200 is concerning. He still is just 20 years old so the White Sox have plenty of time with him.

Wilson, 29, is with the White Sox. He throws out of the Chicago bullpen and has been a decent arm for them. He doesn't bring the ceiling that the other guys in the deal bring, but he's certainly a usable big-league bullpen arm.

Now back to Cease. He's an ace. He's thrown like an ace and he's going to be the engine that pushes the Padres to and through the playoffs if they want to make a World Series run. They needed to trade for him. They are doing just fine without the prospects that they sent over in the deal, though losing Thorpe does hurt a bit.

This is one of those true win-win trades, at least as of today. The Padres got their guy that can help them push for wins right now and the White Sox added prospects that should have an impact on their future. At the very least, the White Sox added Drew Thorpe who has just been incredible.

White Sox Trade Grade: A-
Padres Trade Grade: A