Despite the potential six-man rotation that the New York Mets will be rolling with into 2025, president of baseball operations David Stearns was keeping the phone lines open — most notably in reported conversations with the San Diego Padres for right-hander Dylan Cease.
The 29-year-old would potentially bolster the top of the rotation alongside Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, and David Peterson, which would be a welcomed addition considering the number of wild cards on the bottom half. Frankie Montas is a reclamation like Manaea and Luis Severino was before him in New York. Clay Holmes is moving from a closer role to a starter at 31 years old and Tylor Megill is still in the mix despite years of inconsistencies in Queens.
Cease, who is under team control for this year only before hitting free agency, went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA, a career-best 1.067 WHIP, and 224 strikeouts in 189 innings pitched last season.
Even with free agency looming next winter, the Padres’ price for a potential trade is high. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that “targets likely include” infielders Jett Williams and Luisangel Acuna along with starting pitcher Brandon Sproat.
Williams and Sproat are considered the Mets’ top two prospects, with Sproat projected to make the jump to the majors in the middle of the 2025 campaign. Williams, who can play shortstop and the outfield, might not be too far behind either, especially if injuries hit the club over the summer.
Acuna could be in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day major-league roster. After an impressive showing as a September call-up last year, his versatility will have him in the conversation for time at second and third base.
ETAs aside, Stearns has already shown a reluctance to part with prospects of this caliber. The Chicago White Sox reportedly asked for Williams and Sproat back in December in a potential deal for ace pitcher Garrett Crochet, but the Mets declined, and a deal was eventually struck with the Boston Red Sox.
Crochet is four years younger than Cease and is under team control for the next two seasons — parameters that would call for a larger return compared to Cease.
