Dylan Cease is finally on the move.
The White Sox star pitcher is headed to the Padres, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday.
The deal brings an end to a prolonged period of Cease's name being floated in trade rumors, which dates back to last season's August trade deadline.
The 28-year-old starter is coming off a disappointing 2023 campaign, finishing with a 7-9 record, 4.58 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in an American League-leading 33 starts. He still recorded 214 strikeouts, though, cracking the 200-K threshold for his third-consecutive season.
What did the Padres give up to receive the right-handed ace? The Sporting News has you covered with trade details below.
Dylan Cease trade details
Padres get:
- RHP Dylan Cease
White Sox get:
- RHP Drew Thorpe (Padres No. 5 prospect)
- OF Samuel Zavala (Padres No. 7 prospect)
- RHP Jairo Iriarte (Padres No. 8 prospect)
- RHP Steven Wilson
The Padres are sending RHP Thorpe, OF Zavala and RHP Iriarte to the White Sox for Cease — San Diego's Nos. 5, 7 and 8th-ranked prospects, respectively. They will also send 29-year-old right-handed reliever Wilson to Chicago, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
Thorpe was the top prospect the Padres landed in the December trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees. The 23-year-old comes in as the No. 85th-ranked prospect across all of MLB.
San Diego outbid the reigning World Series champion Rangers for Cease, "agreeing to part with a steep package of young talent," The Athletic's Padres writer Dennis Lin reported.
Cease was underwhelming in 2023, but he is only one season removed from his runner-up finish in the 2022 AL Cy Young race. He was dominant that season, registering career-bests with 14 wins, 227 strikeouts, a 2.20 ERA and 1.11 WHIP.
The 28-year-old is under club control for two more seasons, set to earn $8 million in 2024 before becoming arbitration-eligible for the second time in 2025.
Padres projected pitching rotation
Cease will join RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Joe Musgrove and RHP Michael King in the Padres' rotation. San Diego hasn't shown any indication of re-signing free agent NL Cy Young Blake Snell, so Cease will look to fill that void.
The Padres' fifth and final starter will be a contest between RHP Jhony Brito or RHP Matt Waldron, according to Fangraphs.
You can find San Diego's projected 2024 pitching rotation below.
| Role | Player | Throws | Age |
| SP1 | Yu Darvish | R | 37 |
| SP2 | Joe Musgrove | R | 31 |
| SP3 | Dylan Cease | R | 28 |
| SP4 | Michael King | R | 26 |
| SP5 | TBD | — | — |