Cubs Seen As Good Fit for Padres Starter Dylan Cease if He's Traded

With the trade deadline just a few days away, rumors are starting to circulate about what the plan for the Chicago Cubs will be.

The Cubs are well over the .500 mark and battling the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central standings.

Despite the success so far, Chicago figures to be one of the more aggressive teams at the deadline with hopes of making a run in October. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the future of Kyle Tucker with the franchise beyond this year, the Cubs should have an all-in mindset.

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When looking at the roster, there is one clear area that they should be looking to upgrade. With an excellent lineup and bullpen, Chicago needs to add at least one capable playoff starter at the deadline.

Fortunately, this is a team that has an excellent farm system, and they should be able to pursue any pitcher they deem helpful.

As the trade deadline quickly approaches, there are a lot of names out there who might get traded. Furthermore, a couple of new names are popping up with just days left until the deadline.

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Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan of ESPN recently wrote about the Cubs being a potential fit for San Diego Padres starter Dylan Cease, who they gave a 25 percent chance of being dealt at the trade deadline.

“Another late entry to the proceedings, Cease is throwing as hard as he did in his prime and is here more as a function of the Padres not having payroll flexibility or a deep minor league system than some sort of desire to deal him,” they wrote.

While it might not be overly likely that the talented right-hander gets traded, he is an impending free agent at the end of the season, and the Padres won’t be able to afford to keep him long-term.

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This year, he has totaled a 3-10 record with a 4.59 ERA. While it has been a down campaign so far, a good amount of those struggles came early on this season.

Even though Cease might be available, San Diego is right in the mix in the playoff hunt in the NL, making any potential deal challenging.

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More than likely, the team would be seeking some cheap controllable talent for Cease, but as an impending free agent, he won’t bring back a haul.

For the Cubs, the right-hander could slide into the front of their rotation nicely along with Shota Imagana and Matthew Boyd. While a potential deal is still not very likely, Cease is a great fit for Chicago.  

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