After a Wild Card round defeat to the Chicago Cubs, the offseason has officially begun for the San Diego Padres. A key question for the Padres is whether they will make it a priority to keep right-handed starting pitcher Dylan Cease.
In his second season with the team after being acquired ahead of the 2024 season, Cease had somewhat of a down year by his standards for San Diego. The 29-year-old was poised to have a career season before hitting unrestricted free agency this offseason, but it didn’t quite go as planned for him. Still, he put up solid numbers that will draw the eyes of many teams this winter.
In 168 innings in 2025, Cease posted a 4.55 ERA and struck out 215 batters on his way to an 8-12 win-loss record. It’s a pretty good season and one that makes him one of the best available free agent arms this offseason, but it didn’t live up to what Cease has shown in the past. Just the year before, in 2024, Cease finished fourth in Cy Young voting and 22nd in the MVP race. There’s no doubt what he’s capable of, and despite the slight step back, there are many suitors for the righty.
In a recent Bleacher Report article, Kerry Miller listed 10 potential suitors for the seven-year veteran. At the fourth spot was the Padres, with questions around whether the team will be able to afford a Cease return.
“They already have five players making at least $20 million next season, plus Darvish at $16 million, Jake Cronenworth at over $12 million, and a couple of other known figures, bringing their total to almost $160 million for 11 players,” Miller wrote in the piece.
With such a steep payroll already, the Padres may be inclined to let the starter walk in free agency. Never say never with the Padres, who are always willing to splurge and whose rotation gets shaky outside of Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta.
If he doesn’t return to San Diego, Miller has playoff teams such as the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, and Detroit Tigers as potential landing spots for Cease. The addition of Cease to a playoff roster would no doubt make them even more of a threat in 2026 if their current postseason journeys fall short.
There are several other teams that just missed the postseason who would benefit from Cease’s services. The New York Mets would love to bring Cease into the Big Apple, as their rotation issues were a huge part of their historic late-season collapse. Cease could also give the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks that final check they were missing this season.
Cease is one of the most valuable arms hitting unrestricted free agency this winter, and his future could change depending on how the rest of the postseason plays out. Still, even as it is, there’s no shortage of teams that are willing to start a bidding war for the ace.