Padres Rumors: Major Landing Spot Has Emerged in Blockbuster Dylan Cease Trade

The San Diego Padres were never likely to trade Dylan Cease for prospects prior to Thursday's trade deadline, if they were going to trade him at all.

One team with Cease atop their wish list could be an ideal fit. Now that middle infielder Brice Matthews has made his major league debut, the Houston Astros have no Top 100 prospects to trade.

The Astros, according to Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic, have Cease "at the top of their wish list" as the deadline approaches.

Last week, Buster Olney of ESPN reported the Padres were making Cease available in trade talks with rival teams. Joel Sherman of the New York Post subsequently 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.

Add the Astros to the list.

Robert Murray subsequently characterized a Cease trade as "a longshot," but did not rule it out altogether.

The Padres, of course, would love to maintain or improve their standing in the National League playoff hunt. Entering Tuesday's game against the New York Mets, they are 58-49 — second in the National League West, and third in the NL Wild Card race.

The Cincinnati Reds (56-51) enter Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers two games behind San Diego for the NL's final Wild Card berth.

Trading Cease, who's made more starts than any pitcher since the start of the 2021 season, would create an obvious void of innings in the Padres' rotation. But Astros owner Jim Crane twice traded for Justin Verlander, once for Zack Greinke, and tried to acquire Blake Snell and Josh Hader from the Padres two years ago.

Now, Crane is eyeing another big pitching acquisition, and none looms larger than Cease.

Cease, a free agent at the end of the season, is 3-10 with a 4.79 ERA in 22 starts this season. His poor ERA is tempered somewhat by a 3.64 FIP. San Diego might be selling low on the right-hander, but the timing could make sense amid a weak trade market for starting pitching.

According to The Athletic, the Padres are only interested in trading him if they can improve their current major-league roster. But the Astros might have an excess of starters after Spencer Arighetti, J.P. France and Cristian Javier return from injuries as expected in August or September.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.