The Chicago White Sox have traded Cease to the San Diego Padres, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Wednesday.
News of Cease’s trade does not come as a surprise; a report earlier in the day said the Padres had entered talks for the right-handed pitcher.
The Padres spent the offseason cutting payroll. They traded Juan Soto to the Yankees, and they let players like Josh Hader, Michael Wacha, and (seemingly) Blake Snell walk in free agency. But Cease is making a very reasonable $8 million this season, and he’s still under team control for 2025, so he is cost-controlled.
The Padres got themselves a 2022 AL Cy Young Award contender without having to spend big money, though they are sending prospects to the White Sox.
Cease went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA last season. The year before, he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA and 227 strikeouts. He will now be joining a pitching rotation that also includes Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.
