Unbelievable: Padres Weighing Blockbuster Deal for Dylan Cease, All-Star Slugger

The San Diego Padres have had a habit of shocking baseball with some type of blockbuster trade in the offseason, but president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has yet to do that this winter.

That could mean he has something up his sleeve and he just hasn’t pulled the trigger on it yet.

While San Diego sports personalities and insiders wait for Preller to make a few big moves, some have begun to create trade scenarios. Derek Togerson of NBC 7 San Diego created a blockbuster move that sends Dylan Cease to Boston.

Here is the full proposal:

Red Sox Get: RHP Dylan Cease, INF Jake Cronenworth

Padres Get: OF Wilyer Abreu, 1B Triston Casas, SS Marcelo Mayer (Boston’s No. 2 prospect)

Cease and Cronenworth together account for $25 million toward the CBT. Cronenworth’s contract is one the Padres should strongly consider moving. Boston, for instance, cycled through six different second basemen last season and got virtually no production from the position, making Cronenworth a significant upgrade for them.

However, the Padres have made it clear that starting pitching is a weakness heading into the 2025 season and trading a Cy Young candidate away doesn’t exactly make the team better. So should the Padres even entertain a trade like this?

Absolutely not.

San Diego is still trying to bring outfielder Jurickson Profar back, though his price tag is more than the $1 million deal he signed last year. Triston Casas would fit in nicely with San Diego but he’s the only piece of the deal that really works here.

The Padres need a solution at shortstop, but trading for Boston’s No. 2 prospect in Marcelo Mayer is like adding another Leodalis De Vries.

De Vries is only a year or two away from making his big league debut and Xander Bogaerts will be fine as the interim starting shortstop for the next season or two while De Vries continues to develop in the farm system.

Cease, the 28-year-old pitcher, is coming off a solid 2024 season. The ace delivered a no-hitter and recorded a 3.47 ERA over a career-high 189.1 innings. Cease has met the qualifications for the ERA title in each of the past four seasons. He is also entering his final year of team control.

With the Padres aiming to cut payroll, Cease could be traded for younger, budget-friendly talent. However, this isn’t the deal the Padres should pursue.