Padres Fielding Calls From 6 Teams in Potential Blockbuster Dylan Cease Trade

To make a Dylan Cease trade make sense for the San Diego Padres, it would have to fill an area of need without destabilizing their starting rotation.

In theory, that could be a tricky needle for general manager A.J. Preller to thread. Nonetheless, the Padres are listening to offers for Cease in advance of the July 31 trade deadline, according to multiple reports.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post identified six teams that have inquired about Cease: the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs.

Subtracting Cease — who leads MLB with 150 starts and 1,030 strikeouts over the last five seasons — would create a large hole in a rotation that's struggled to make up for the injury absence of Michael King.

The Padres have gotten surprising contributions (in a good way) from Nick Pivetta, Randy Vasquez and rookie Ryan Bergert. The contributions from Yu Darvish and, at times, Cease have been equally surprising (in a bad way). If King returns from his shoulder injury and is effective in October, it's not clear who would start a potential playoff series in a rotation without Cease.

Buster Olney of ESPN reported Wednesday that the Padres have talked to the Baltimore Orioles about right-hander Charlie Morton, a durable starting pitcher who has recently turned around his season for the struggling Orioles.

It's hard to imagine Preller OK'ing a trade that would subtract a respected veteran from a team that is 55-48 and would enter the postseason as a Wild Card team if the season ended today.

It's also hard to imagine a Cease-for-Morton swap making sense for either the Padres or the Orioles. Baltimore is 45-57 and firmly out of contention. Morton's one-year, $15 mllion contract leaves him eligible for free agency at the end of the season. So does Cease's $13.75 million deal.

Baltimore will be looking for prospects in any trade of Morton, something the Padres' farm system does not have in excess. One of the two crown jewels of their minor league system, catcher Ethan Salas, has been dealing with a stress fracture in his back since April — "effectively putting his trade value on hold," according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Of the six teams Sherman linked to Cease, it's plausible if not likely that Preller would ask for minor league prospects, then turn those players around in a deal for Morton (or another starting pitcher). The reports effectively suggest the Padres could be looking to make a three (or more) team trade, a rarity during deadline season.

Of course, nothing is out of the question this time of year, and the trade activity around MLB is just beginning to heat up.

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