Padres $108 Million Mistake: Blockbuster Deal Sends All-Star to Orioles for…

The San Diego Padres are looking to shed payroll this offseason, and have started taking calls on All-Star right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease.

Cease was acquired by the Padres right before the team left for Korea at the beginning of the 2024 season in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago White Sox. The Friars sent right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe, outfielder Samuel Zavala, right-handed pitcher Jairo Iriarte, and right-handed pitcher Steven Wilson.

Now, less than a year later, with Cease heading into his final year of team control, the Padres are considering moving him. They would likely look to recoup some major league ready prospects as they lower their payroll heading into the new season.

“It’s that time of year where you’re always going to get incoming phone calls when you have good players,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said at the Winter Meetings. “This year’s been active on that front. But I think that just speaks to when you have good players that people want to talk about.”

If the Padres wanted to add some top prospects in a deal for Cease, the Baltimore Orioles would be a perfect fit — and Newsweek Sports’ Zach Pressnell put together a blockbuster trade proposal between the two clubs.

The Orioles would receive Cease, while the Padres would get three of the Orioles’ top 12 prospects: Right-handed pitcher Chayce McDermott, outfielder Dylan Beavers, and cather/first baseman Ethan Anderson

While the Orioles are filling their Corbin Burnes-sized hole in the rotation without another ace in Cease, the Padres are getting three prospects, two of which could play as soon as 2025.

“McDermott, 26, could slot into the Padres rotation by Opening Day. He’s an incredibly talented arm with incredible potential. Beavers could replace outfielder Jurickson Profar in San Diego’s lineup,” Pressnell wrote. “Ethan Anderson provides the Padres with another talented prospect, this one being a 2024 draft pick. Anderson posted a .799 OPS in 19 games of pro ball last season.”

The Padres could decide they want more major league proven talent, however, this package with the Orioles would give them an impressive haul for a player with one more year of team control. They could also look to package any of these players for a cheaper major league pitcher under multiple years of team control.