One name that popped up in trade rumors at the deadline was San Diego Padres starter Dylan Cease. The former Chicago White Sox starter is in his second year in San Diego but was floated as a trade candidate due to an expiring contract and an underwhelming season.
In the end, the Padres held on to Cease, although his 2025 outings have been inconsistent.
On Saturday, Cease pitched well, going six innings and giving up five hits with one run and six strikeouts in the win over the Colorado Rockies.
In turn, Cease moved his record to 8-11 and won his second straight game, the other of which also came against the Rockies.
Cease also recorded his 200th strikeout of the season, joining an exclusive MLB list in the process.
The veteran became the only pitcher to have 200 or more strikeouts in each of the last five seasons.
Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) on X
Dylan Cease is the only MLB pitcher with 200+ strikeouts in each of the last five seasons!
Here are the strikeout totals for Cease over the last five seasons:
- 2021: 226
- 2022: 227
- 2023: 214
- 2024: 224
- 2025: 201
Cease has five or more strikeouts in each of the last five outings, and he had back-to-back nine-strikeout performances at the beginning of August.
Unfortunately, Cease's ERA is at 4.59, although it was 4.82 after an August 26 start against the Seattle Mariners, so it has come down quite a bit in recent weeks.
While Cease has been inconsistent, he has continued to strikeout batters, and he should have a couple more starts in the regular season to try and beat his career high of 227.