CBS Sports: Before the trade deadline, the Mets make a league-altering trade for a $108 million Padres starter.
Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea will miss the New York Mets’ season opener. The Mets may still like to bolster their starting rotation even though both are anticipated to return. Dylan Cease, a starter for the San Diego Padres, was identified by Mike Axisa of CBS Sports as an early contender to be dealt before to the trade deadline. He mentioned the Mets as a possible suitor as well
“Just about every Padre who is making real money and doesn’t have a no-trade clause has been mentioned in trade rumors the last few months, including Cease,” noted Axisa. I’m not sure whether that’s the case here, but normally I would assume San Diego would have to lose the race for a trade to become a viable option. You simply need to look at the contracts of Nick Pivetta and Michael King to know how tight money is. In 2025, his last year of team control, Cease will earn a comfortable $13.75 million. Is it possible for the Padres to get several younger, less expensive players in exchange for Cease? Indeed.
The starting rotation of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets’ biggest threat in the National League, is far superior to the team’s own, even with Manaea and Montas healthy.
With two career top five vote finishes, Cease is a pitcher worthy of a Cy Young Award. With a 3.47 ERA and 224 strikeouts, he placed fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting the previous season. Cease would be the Mets’ top pitcher right away because he has made more than 30 starts in each of the last four seasons. He ended as the 2022 American League Cy Young Award runner-up and has a 3.40 ERA over the previous four seasons.
The Padres may want to extend their time with him as much as possible before he becomes a free agency at the end of the season, but Cease will need a respectable deal to sign him.
