Projected Padres starting rotation after acquiring Dylan Cease

The San Diego Padres were involved in a blockbuster trade earlier this offseason by flipping superstar outfielder Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. In exchange, the Padres received four right-handed pitchers and catcher Kyle Higashioka from the Yankees. While fans may have thought that the team was going to go with a retool, that is not the case. Instead, they are acquiring one of the top pitchers available on the trading block.

ESPN's Jeff Passan broke the news that the Padres were acquiring Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox. With teams like the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, and San Francisco Giants linked to him, it was the Padres who swooped in to show that "Yes, we are still ready to compete in the NL West, with or without Soto."

With Cease now entering the fray in San Diego, what does the starting rotation look like heading into Opening Day?

Projected Padres starting rotation in 2024 after Dylan Cease trade

Here is what the starting rotation will look like heading into the 2024 regular season:

1. Yu Darvish
2. Joe Musgrove
3. Dylan Cease
4. Michael King
5. Matt Waldron

The first two starters heading into the 2024 regular season was confirmed by the Padres. As they face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a two-game series in Seoul, South Korea. Yu Darvish will start in the first game, facing off against Tyler Glasnow of the Dodgers. Joe Musgrove will pitch the second game against new Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

That leaves Cease as, easily, the No. 3 option in the rotation when all is said and done. Cease carries a 3.83 ERA and 1.31 WHIP during his seven seasons with the White Sox. Last season, Cease posted a 4.58 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, a 7-9 win-loss record, and 214 strikeouts over 177.0 innings.

Michael King slots in as a back-end rotation pitcher, much like he did during his tenure with the Yankees. In 49 games (nine starts), King recorded a 2.75 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and 127 strikeouts over 104.2 innings.

The last spot of the rotation seems to belong to Matt Waldron. In spring training, Waldron recorded a 1.35 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts over 13.1 innings (four games, two starts).

With this rotation, you can expect the Padres to compete for a postseason berth this season. Not only do they have Cease for this season, but for next season as well.