Chicago White Sox Sending Ace Dylan Cease to San Diego Padres in Blockbuster Trade
The Chicago White Sox have agreed to trade starting pitcher Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Wednesday evening.
Per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, the Padres will be sending multiple notable prospects to the White Sox as part of the deal. Further details have yet to be revealed.
It wasn’t all too long ago that the White Sox were considered to be content holding onto Cease until this summer’s trade deadline. The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers emerged as the favorites to trade for Cease earlier this week, however, only to get outbid by the Padres.
Cease is coming off a season in which he went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.418 WHIP and 2.4 WAR, marking his least efficient campaign since his rookie year in 2019.
The 28-year-old right-hander was the AL Cy Young runner-up in 2022, though. He leads all MLB pitchers with 97 starts over the past three seasons, going 34-24 with a 3.54 ERA, 1.257 WHIP, 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 11.8 WAR in that time.
Chicago avoided arbitration with Cease in January, locking in an $8 million salary for 2024. That is quite the palatable price for a high-end starting pitcher, especially for a San Diego team that was largely strapped for cash this winter.
The Padres will have Cease under team control for two seasons. Barring an extension, he will become a free agent in 2026.
San Diego now has a new ace after letting NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell enter free agency. Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo left to join the Kansas City Royals as well, effectively gutting half of the Padres’ rotation.
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