Padres' Dylan Cease avoids trade deadline disaster after scary liner off head

All eyes were on Dylan Cease Monday night. As part of the MLB Network Showcase, which featured the streaking New York Mets battling the Padres at Petco Park, Cease showed his trade market value in multiple ways. The Padres starting pitcher made news before he even hit the mound, with many speculating that this could be Cease's last start for the Friars.

MLB Network announcer Yonder Alonso offered his take on Cease early, suggesting that the pitcher severely struggles when facing batters the third time around. (Who doesn't?) For Cease, the juxtaposition of Alonso picking him apart while simultaneously striking out the side, (including Nimmo, Lindor, and Soto) was poetic justice.

Cease's arm wasn't the only thing on fire, as the right-handed starter showed off his competitive spirit. Displaying his disgust at a couple of non-strike calls, Cease proved he could influence a game, and in this case, an umpire. After the second on-mound dispute from Cease, he later received a favorable call which issued him a strike out of Juan Soto, who immediately started arguing with the home plate umpire while Mets manager Carlos Mendoza ran interference. In the end, Mendoza got tossed, and Soto was whisked away by fellow Met Pete Alonso.

Cease's night wasn't done however. The pitcher got to prove his toughness in the third inning, asa hard-hit liner primed right for Cease, smacked him in the back of the head. Everyone was sure Padres manager Mike Shildt would pull him. In a convincing manner, Cease was adamant he was okay, and stayed in the game.

Cease returned in the top of the fourth looking rather Herculean. Not long after, FernandoTatis Jr. robbed Mets' Mark Vientos of a homer, with a thrilling over the fence catch. Vientos would have his revenge though, hitting a grand slam off Cease in the 5th, which momentarily took the air out of Petco.

In the end, all Cease could do was shake his head, frustrated at his pitch selection, a high fastball that Vientos took deep. Perhaps President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller was shaking his head, too, probably wondering why Cease wasn't pulled sooner. Cease exited the game with 102 pitches, nine strikeouts, and five walks.

In the end, it was a strong outing for Cease accentuated by one bad pitch, leaving more questions than answers. Did teams see enough to want to grab Cease? With only two days left before the MLB trade deadline, we will have our answer soon enough.