The San Diego Padres made waves at the trade deadline by dealing top prospect Leo De Vries (MLB’s No. 3 prospect) to the Athletics for closer Mason Miller.
But what’s really turning heads is who they didn’t trade: Dylan Cease.
Jon Heyman reported that the Houston Astros were making real progress on a deal for Cease, but it never materialized. That might’ve been the best non-move the Padres made.
On paper, trading Cease seemed logical. The 29-year-old’s a pending free agent coming off a rough stretch – he’s 4-10 with a 4.60 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through 23 starts. Those numbers don’t exactly scream “keep me.”
But here’s where it gets interesting.
Cease ranks fourth in strikeouts with 162, putting him on pace for 234 K’s this season. His 3.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio ties the career-high he set last year. That’s elite stuff, even when everything else looks messy.
More importantly, he’s been heating up lately. In three of his last four starts, Cease has allowed two or fewer earned runs while striking out nine or more batters. That’s the version of Cease the Padres need – and the one they’re betting shows up in October.
“If he settles down and pitches like a consistent mid-rotation arm he’s been in the pretty recent past, keeping him will suddenly feel like another impressive deadline deal from the Padres,”
wrote FanSided’s Quinn Everts.
The way I see it, San Diego’s front office must have a pretty good read on where Cease is heading. With Michael King and Joe Musgrove sidelined, they need every reliable arm they can get for the stretch run.
Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make. If Cease continues this recent surge, the Padres might’ve pulled off their biggest deadline win without giving up anything at all.
