After months of speculation, Dylan Cease ended up finally getting traded to the San Diego Padres last week, shoring up a Padres starting rotation that desperately needed some help. At his best, Cease is one of the deadliest pitchers in the league, and his new manager Mike Shildt was fired up after his strong debut for the team.
The Padres are out in Korea preparing for the Seoul Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they participated in an exhibition against the LG Twins on Monday that saw Cease get the start. The former Chicago White Sox ace pitched two innings, and while the one hit he allowed was a home run, he struck out two batters and left Shildt very impressed with what he saw.
Via Jon Morosi:
“Mike Shildt’s summary of Dylan Cease’s impressive Padres debut: ‘Wow. Good addition. Holy crap. I got a lot smarter…He’s going to help us a ton.'”
Mike Shildt, Padres expecting big things from Dylan Cease
The Padres have a pair of top-tier starters in Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove already, but the depth behind them was lacking, which necessitated the addition of Cease. While it was only two innings of work, Cease showed what he is capable of, and Shildt and the Padres will surely be hoping he can be the final piece to the puzzle in their quest to re-emerge as a World Series contender.
Considering how poorly their 2023 campaign went, it's safe to say the Padres have a lot of work to do. But the same is true for Cease, who struggled pretty badly after finishing second in the American League Cy Young race in 2022. If Cease can pitch like he did in 2022, the Padres will be in a good spot to succeed, and if Shildt is this fired up over his debut, fans should be feeling the same way.
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