Padres Acquire RHP Dylan Cease in a Blockbuster Trade

After a fairly subdued off-season by AJ Preller’s standards, the San Diego Padres made a huge splash Wednesday afternoon. 

San Diego acquired righthander Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox by sending a package of four players will go back to Chicago: right-handed starters Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, outfielder Samuel Zavala, and right-handed reliever Steven Wilson. 

The trade fortifies a rotation that was a question mark as spring training wrapped up. The Padres lost reigning Cy Young award winner Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez, and Seth Lugo to free agency.

The trade gives the Padres a likely rotation of Cease, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Michael King with Jonny Brito, Matt Waldron, Pedro Avila, and Randy Vásquez as options in the fifth slot. 

Landing the runner up in the 2022 Cy Young race didn’t come without a cost for the Padres, who sent three of their top 10 prospects to Chicago. Let’s dive into what the Padres gave up. 

Going to Chicago

RHP Jairo Iriarte: Iriarte, 22, signed as an international free agent in July 2018. Our number six ranked prospect coming into 2024, the hard-throwing righty has matured physically in the last two years, leading to increased velocity and improved results. In 2023, Iriarte went 3-4 with a 3.49 ERA in 27 games (21 starts) between Fort Wayne and San Antonio. The organization added him to the 40-man roster this winter. 

Iriarte’s fastball sits easily in the mid-90s and he’s touched 100 at times. His slider and changeup have improved immensely and his stuff is good enough to stick as a starter if he can refine his control a bit. He struck out 29.7% of the hitters he faced in Fort Wayne in 2023. After being promoted to San Antonio, that number jumped to 40%, although he also walked more than five batters per nine innings.  Iriarte was optioned to minor league camp last week but he could find himself with a big league opportunity in the Windy City. 

RHP Drew Thorpe: Thorpe, 23, was acquired by the Padres in December 2023, as part of the Juan Soto trade. One slot below Iriarte, the former Cal Poly hurler dominated last season in the Yankees’ system, looking particularly impressive in a late-season stint with Double-A Trenton, going 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA in five starts.

The righthander pairs a changeup that looks to be a potentially elite pitch with a fastball sits in the low 90s. In addition, he featured a slider and a cutter that helps keep hitters honest. Thorpe earned an invite to Padres’ big league camp this spring and impressed, not allowing a run in seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts. The young prospect has a chance to contribute in the big leagues, perhaps as early as this season.

OF Samuel Zavala: Zavala, 19, the number 10 prospect spent most of last season in Low-A Lake Elsinore where he had a stellar season. In 101 games, the lefthanded hitting outfielder slashed .267/.420/.451 with 22 doubles, 14 homers, 71 RBI, 89 walks, and 121 strikeouts. The teenage outfielder earned a late-season promotion to Fort Wayne where he had just four hits in 51 plate appearances. 

Zavala controls the strike zone well but has a bit too much swing-and-miss in his game currently. He often struggled with high-velocity pitching and breaking balls in on his hands. He has good speed and athleticism and can play center field capably, at this stage although he might be better suited on a corner as he matures physically. He seemed likely to open the season with the TinCaps in Fort Wayne. 

RHP Steven Wilson: Wilson, 29, was the one big league player heading to Chicago in the deal. The Littleton, Colorado native was drafted by the Padres in the eighth round of the 2018 draft, out of Santa Clara University. 

Wilson worked exclusively as a reliever in the Padres’ system after spending six years with Santa Clara, where he endured Tommy John surgery late in his college career. Wilson has spent the last two seasons in the Padres’ bullpen, where he has appeared in 102 games. He has a 3.48 ERA the last two seasons with 114 strikeouts in 106 career innings. Wilson was part of a strong bullpen with the Padres and he should slide into a high-leverage role with the White Sox. 

Coming to San Diego

Right-handed starter Dylan Cease is the sole player coming back to San Diego. The Milton, Georgia native has pitched parts of five seasons with the White Sox, developing into a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter. In each of the last three seasons, Cease has started at least 32 games, pitching no fewer than 165.2 innings. 

Cease did his best work in 2022, where he got MVP votes, in addition to finishing second in the American League Cy Young race. Last season, he took a step backward, pitching to a 4.58 ERA in 33 starts. However, his 3.72 FIP was solid and he played for a club that struggled defensively. Cease struck out 214 batters in 177 innings. 

The 28-year-old comes to San Diego with two years of control. He is slated to make $8 million this year and will be eligible for arbitration in 2025. The Padres projected top four starters are under control through the 2025 season. 

Final Thoughts

The Padres’ rotation depth looked questionable on the eve of the season, but the organization has acquired several pitchers who could start games in 2024. Despite moving three of our top 10 prospects, the organization still has its top four prospects intact. The pitching depth at the Double-A has been thinned out a bit, but the organization still has a bevy of arms who will open the year in the upper minors.