Padres radio host has misguided Dylan Cease trade take for upcoming offseason

The San Diego Padres' offseason will be ripe with speculation. The Friars have a number of key free agents as well as several players who could land a contract extension this coming winter. One such player is Dylan Cease.

After swinging a trade with the Chicago White Sox last spring, the Padres have the NL Cy Young contender under team control for at least one more season.

And while a majority of the Friar faithful would love to see the Padres ink Cease to a long-term deal this offseason, at least one well-known San Diego radio host thinks the right-hander could be wearing a different jersey in 2025.

Steven Woods of the Ben & Woods Show on 93.7 The Fan floated the idea that San Diego may look to trade Cease this offseason. Woods' cohost, Ben Higgins, echoed his partner's sentiments.

Padres radio host has misguided Dylan Cease trade take for upcoming offseason

Now, Woods and Higgins aren't completely off-base when speaking about the idea of a potential Cease trade this offseason, and neither thinks it's a slam dunk that AJ Preller would deal his ace prior to 2025. But as the duo notes, Cease is one of the top pitchers in baseball, and given the number of teams who are looking for frontline starters, there'd be no shortage of inquiring GMs who'd look to pounce.

The Padres could undoubtedly command a massive haul, a la the Juan Soto trade from a year ago, and would be able to restock the Friars depleted farm system. In that respect, trading Cease this offseason makes sense.

But after that, the idea falls flat. The Padres, much like they did in 2022 for Soto, gave up quite the trade package in order to acquire Cease from the White Sox. San Diego bid farewell to a number of top prospects, including Drew Thorpe. Bailing on Cease after one season just to refill the cupboard seems unwise. What the Padres gave up for two years of Cease will not come close to what they'd get back for only one season of the right-hander's services.

What would the Padres rotation look like without Dylan Cease?

Furthermore, what would San Diego's 2025 starting rotation look like if Cease was traded? Unless a major league-caliber starter was part of the return package in a hypothetical trade for Cease, the Padres will not have a playoff contending rotation next season.

Joe Musgrove will miss all of the 2025 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery while Yu Darvish enters his age-39 season. Matt Waldron fell apart down the stretch, and San Diego offloaded a number of their top pitching prospects last spring in order to acquire Cease and Luis Arráez. Heading into next season with a rotation of Darvish, Waldron, Michael King, Randy Vasquez, and Jhony Brito is a bold strategy.

The Padres are not in an enviable position in terms of payroll. San Diego has shelled out massive contracts to some of their top players over the years, and while that keeps them on the roster, it makes adding pieces during the offseason rather difficult.

But trading Cease should not be part of the equation. The Padres were able to catch lightning in a bottle last offseason after trading away one of their best players. Doing so for second consecutive offseason could be akin to playing with fire.

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