On Sunday, Sean McAdam of MassLive reported that the Red Sox have been in touch with the Padres about starting pitcher Dylan Cease, who is openly being shopped around by the team this spring.
McAdam’s report comes after Underdog Fantasy’s Jared Carrabis had recently mentioned interest by the Sox in the 29-year-old starter.
Here’s what McAdam had to say about the current level of interest by Boston in the former Cy Young runner-up:
“That same source cautioned that, to date at least, the interest from the Red Sox has been closer to "due diligence" level than it is to aggressive pursuit. But for a pitcher the quality of Cease, the Red Sox at least want to monitor the market.”
Cease, who has finished top-four in Cy Young voting in two of the last three seasons, is in the final year of his deal, set to make $13.75 million in 2025.
With how much the price would be for a player of Cease’s caliber, a team trading for his services would most likely want to be in a position to sign him to a long-term contract extension. And with Boston still needing to figure out a new contract for trade acquisition Garrett Crochet, it feels unlikely that the organization would be lining up to pay both players.
But then again, this organization has seemingly turned a new leaf this offseason.
On Saturday, the Red Sox officially announced the signing of former Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, agreeing to a three-year, $120 million contract, reuniting the two-time World Series champion with his former bench coach Alex Cora in Boston.
The addition of Bregman is the capper on an offseason that saw the Red Sox front office operate in a way more reminiscent of the early days of John Henry’s ownership, as the team made deals to bring aboard big name starting pitchers Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler, and were a part of the free agent negotiations for mega star Juan Soto - reportedly offering the now-Met a 15-year deal “in the neighborhood of” $700 million.
They’re not quite the Dodgers, and a flirtation with signing a superstar didn’t exactly make “Truck Day” a place to be seen earlier this month. But it’s signs of life for an ownership group that has now spent half-a-decade more concerned with avoiding the luxury tax than actually fielding a World Series-contending roster on Opening Day.
And if they did move some combination of prospects and players for the services of Cease, they’d be getting back a certified stud on the mound:
- 6 years in the majors
- 3.75 career ERA
- Four straight seasons over 214 strikeouts
- 1,016 career strikeouts
- 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings
- 3.8 walks per 9 innings
- 1.252 career WHIP
- Four straight seasons with at least 32 starts
“I mean, [he’s] a guarantee,” said NESN’s Lou Merloni with Jon Lyons and Tom Carroll on WEEI on Sunday. “You know, it’s almost like a Corbin Burnes signing for the Orioles. You know what he’s gonna be, you know?
“The question is - it’s just an odd signing, right? Like, you’re sitting there, like, ‘OK, I mean, you got Crochet, you got Buehler, you got [Lucas] Giolito.’ You’re sitting there with six. Now, there’s some concerns. You know, [Kutter] Crawford - maybe that knee, patella, I think it’s just some tendonitis. [Brayan] Bello was just recently shut down - he started throwing again, little soreness in his shoulder. So, I don’t know. But it’s like - it’s one year of Dylan Cease. You know, like it’s - I don’t know, it’s uncomfortable. Who you gonna give up for him?”
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