Padres Rumors: Worrisome trade buzz surfaces that could kill 2025 playoff chances

The Padres are coming off a very good 2024 season. They won 93 games and gave the eventual World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers everything they could handle in a five-game NLDS. However, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports the team could be looking to shed some key players this offseason.

Per reports, Dylan Cease could be traded before the start of 2025, which is not really what will get fans excited at the Winter Meetings. The Padres acquired Cease in a deal with the White Sox last March, sending reliever Steven Wilson along with prospects Drew Thorpe, Jairo Iriarte, and Samuel Zavala to Chicago. He was a key cog in San Diego's rotation in 2024, pitching to a 3.47 ERA over a career-high 189 2/3 innings. On July 25, he threw the franchise's second no-hitter against the Washington Nationals.

It makes sense for the Padres to move Cease, as they have the rotation depth to absorb a loss while acquiring younger talent. They would still have Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Michael King, Matt Waldron, and Randy Vásquez to fill out their rotation in 2025. They are also pursuing Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, who will be subject to the amateur bonus rules in the 2025 international class.

In the wake of Peter Siedler's death after the 2023 season, the Padres slashed their 2024 payroll to $169 million. They're aiming to push their 2025 payroll to be more than their previous season's figure, but still have to make some deep cuts nonetheless.

It's also been floated that Luis Arráez could be among the roster casualties, given his rising arbitration costs ($14.6 million). But trading both of those players would be wildly detrimental to San Diego's postseason chances.

With the Padres looking to lower payroll from its projected $210 million figure, they could take advantage of a crazy market for starting pitchers and offer Cease as a cheaper alternative. Cease is projected to earn a salary of $13.7 million in his third and final year of salary arbitration, so a deal could not only provide San Diego with salary relief, but also get back some elite younger talent.

As for Arráez, the three-time batting champion was acquired from the Miami Marlins in May and anchored the top of their lineup, hitting .318 and recording his second consecutive 200-hit season. The combination of his projection 2025 salary of $14.6 million and knee troubles may make him more difficult to move, but at the same time, having someone whose strong hitting and on-base skills would be an asset to have in the lineup, even as a DH.

The Padres must be smart about who they decide to move off the roster, but fans certainly won't like hearing that these are the two candidates.