After much speculation as to whether or not the New York Yankees will be trading for Dylan Cease amid their injury woes, a dark horse in the San Diego Padres swooped in and pulled off a trade with the Chicago White Sox. Now, the Padres are headed to South Korea soon in preparation for their Korea Series Opening Day matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and fans are raring to know whether or not Cease will be joining the team for that trip.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Cease did not leave with the Padres on their flight that will be departing at 8 PM P.T. Nonetheless, the newest Padres starter will be joining the team in South Korea eventually, paving the way for him to support his team from the dugout after the Padres have already named their starting pitchers for the opening series.
Dylan Cease figures to be one of the Padres' best starting pitcher heading into the 2024 season, and the price San Diego paid the White Sox to acquire his services reflects that. The Padres gave up two top-100 prospects in Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte and a 19-year old centerfielder in Samuel Zavala who tore up Low-A last season. Moreover, San Diego gave up a solid MLB bullpen piece as well in Steven Wilson.
It's not quite clear yet how manager Mike Shildt will decide to shuffle the deck of his starting rotation following the first week of regular season action. For now, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove figure to front the rotation, and their scheduled starts in South Korea against the Dodgers reflect that, but Cease's track record, not to mention his peripherals, could open up a bigger role for him atop the team's rotation.
In all likelihood, Dylan Cease will be making his debut for the team in front of a raucous Petco Park crowd in the Padres' home opener on March 28 against the San Francisco Giants. The team can still decide to start either Darvish or Musgrove, but Cease is more than capable of putting on a show in front of their home crowd.
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