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Dylan Cease Trade Idea Sends Dominant Right-Hander to Cubs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By TJ French | Last updated Mar 20, 2025 2:30 PM ET

The Chicago Cubs have a formidable rotation that features two strong southpaws Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele leading the charge, and other good options like Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd.

However, what Chicago is desperately in need of is a powerful right-handed starter. With two lefties being your best two options, it makes the Cubs lack balance, and it will be difficult to keep hitters honest when they see similar pitcher styles in a series.

San Diego Padres starter Dylan Cease has been rumored to be on the trade block all offseason. In a recent trade proposed by Athlon Sports, Cease is shipped off to Chicago.

The Cubs would receive Dylan Cease in return for outfielder Seiya Suzuki, Nate Pearson, and catcher prospect Moises Ballesteros. Yeah, it's a big haul, but Cease is a strong pitcher (possibly the strongest) in the trade market.

Seiya Suzuki is owed $19 million this year and 2026 before becoming an unrestricted free agent. The Padres could be willing to take on Suzuki and his contract after the departure of Jurickson Profar and would save having to pay Cease the monster extension he is looking for.

Cease established himself as one of MLB's best right-handed starters in 2024, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting and striking out 224 hitters in 189.1 innings. He has been as consistent as a starter can be over the last four years, where he has averaged 33 starts a season and 179 innings.

This move would solidify the Cubs as having one of the best rotations in baseball, and they should be willing to move off Nate Pearson and sell high on him as he's slowly starting to find his footing in the MLB.

Suzuki makes the trade proposal interesting because he was brought up by the Cubs and paid an extension, but Chicago has plenty of outfield depth and a couple of strong outfield prospects coming through the pipeline.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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