The New York Mets feel good about their starting pitchers, but the club is always willing to engage in perceived opportunities. That’s why the Mets checked in with the San Diego Padres about starting pitcher Dylan Cease, as the New York Post reported and league sources confirmed.
However such a trade is unlikely right now, people familiar with the matter said, in part because of the potential acquisition cost.
In a trade, Cease should fetch the Padres either major-league talent, an attractive batch of prospects or a combination. After receiving five players in their trade with the New York Yankees involving Juan Soto ahead of last season, the Padres probably have their sights set high. In the Soto deal, the Padres acquired significant major-league talent, including starting pitcher Michael King.
Cease is not Soto. But like Soto at the time, Cease is entering his walk year. He’s a 29-year-old coming off an impressive season in which he had a 3.47 ERA/3.10 FIP with 224 strikeouts in 189 1/3 innings (33 starts). The right-hander has started at least 32 games and recorded at least 200 strikeouts in each of the past four seasons. Cease will earn $13.75 million this season before entering free agency.
Earlier in the offseason, the Mets engaged in trade discussions about Garrett Crochet, a lefty starter whom the Chicago White Sox ended up dealing to the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were able to provide Chicago with higher-quality prospects. Unlike Crochet, who is under club control through the 2026 season, Cease is just a rental, but his track record runs longer. And unlike the White Sox, the Padres are positioned to compete this season, so it would make sense for them to look beyond prospects and seek major leaguers who could help them in any trade involving Cease.
The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked the Mets’ farm system 15th, right at the median. Three Mets prospects cracked Law’s top-100 list: right-hander Brandon Sproat (No. 30), infielder Jett Williams (No. 61) and infielder Ronny Mauricio (No. 91). New York’s farm system also features intriguing prospects such as infielder Luisangel Acuña, right-hander Jonah Tong, outfielder Drew Gilbert and first baseman/outfielder Ryan Clifford, among others. Acuña, Mauricio and Brett Baty are expected to compete for an infield job if the Mets do not re-sign first baseman Pete Alonso.
The price tag for Cease can always evolve. In theory, the cost should be higher now than closer to the trade deadline because a team would receive a full season’s worth of Cease’s production. The price for Cease is also higher now than at the deadline because any team that acquires him now would gain the right to make him a qualifying offer and receive draft-pick compensation.
The Mets rotation consists of Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, David Peterson and Clay Holmes. The club expects to employ a six-man rotation when the schedule makes sense to operate that way (meaning, when there aren’t multiple days off in a week). Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn project as possible sixth starters though Blackburn is working his way back from a spinal injury.
After the Mets re-signed Manaea in December, The Athletic reported the club felt good about their rotation based on what people familiar with the team’s thinking said. Despite lacking a true ace at the front of the rotation, FanGraphs’ ZiPS model painted a mostly satisfactory outlook for the group with sub-4.00 ERAs projected for Senga and Holmes.
(Photo of Dylan Cease: Ray Acevedo / USA Today)
