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With Spring Training looming, the San Diego Padres are still active in the trade market. Pitchers Dylan Cease and Michael King are said to be available as the team hopes to both add depth and cut payroll.
One immediate area of need is in the outfield, and AJ Preller has never hesitated to swing a major trade. Thankfully for him, there are assets available and there should be partners willing to deal.
In this case, the Baltimore Orioles make a ton of sense. The O's are still reeling from losing both Anthony Santander and Corbin Burnes in free agency and the Padres can help them make up for one of those losses.
The math is simple. Cease is available and the Orioles need an ace. The Orioles have an abundance of outfield prospects and the Padres need an outfielder.
There are some caveats, of course. For one, Cease is a free agent after 2025, so Baltimore would basically be getting a one-year rental unless they can work out an extension. That will lower his asking price considerably. Additionally, the Padres are hell-bent on contending while their players on mega contracts are still producing and bringing in a prospect to plug into the spot that Jurickson Profar took last year is a risk. They want someone who can contribute in the Majors right away.
Here's the trade that both sides can agree upon:
Padres receive: Heston Kjerstad and Chayce McDermott
Orioles receive: Dylan Cease
Heston Kjerstad solves the Padres' outfield problem
The Padres are in the market for another outfielder and Kjerstad fits the bill as a controllable and cheap option. With 129 big-league at bats to his name, the 25-year-old was the Orioles' first-round pick in 2020. He's had a few stints with the big league club and the small sample size bodes well. He has a 119 OPS+ with six home runs and a .248 average.
In the minors, his numbers tell a clearer story. In 56 games with Triple-A Norfolk last year, Kjerstad hit .301 with a .998 OPS and 16 home runs. Under normal circumstances, he'd be expected to compete for one of the starting outfield spots with the Orioles in 2025, but the truth is, he's just buried on the depth chart under too much talent. Baltimore acquiring Tyler O'Neill in the offseason didn't help matters either.
In San Diego, Kjerstad would have the opportunity to get consistent at bats in a low-pressure situation. San Diego already has plenty of heavy hitters, allowing the youngster to go through the highs and lows of a first full season in the majors.
Dylan Cease is the Corbin Burnes replacement the Orioles need
The Orioles want to contend in the AL East but they also lost two All-Star-caliber players in Santander and Burnes. Cease can make up for Baltimore losing Burnes because he checks all the boxes of being an ace.
Cease has started at least 30 games in every full season he's been in the majors, leading the league in games started three out of the last four years. He has not missed a start since 2019 and has struck out 200-or-more batters in each of the past four seasons.
As for 2024, he was excellent, pitching to a 3.47 ERA with a 1.067 WHIP. With a strikeout rate hovering around 30% and opponents hitting just .200 off of him in 2024, Cease established himself as one of the Padres' more dependable starters.
Similar to Burnes when the Orioles acquired him, Cease is a free agent after 2025, so it should drop his asking price. He agreed to a $13.75 million deal with San Diego this season as the sides avoided arbitration.
