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Padres Notes: Morejon, Machado, Ownership

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With Spring Training just around the corner, the Padres held their annual FanFest event yesterday and the impending return of baseball was a hot topic. With trade rumors surrounding right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King while veteran Joe Musgrove figures to miss the entire 2025 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October, the club’s rotation has been under particular scrutiny in recent weeks.

However, the Padres end up filling out their rotation come Opening Day, one potential candidate to start has been eliminated at this point: left-hander Adrian Morejon. According to a report from Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday, club manager Mike Shildt spoke about Morejon’s place on the roster yesterday and gave the lefty a vote of confidence in a relief role.

“Adrián has found a really nice niche in the bullpen,” Shildt said, as relayed by Sanders. “It’s a spot that we think he’s not only going to do as well as he did last year, but take the next step and he’s excited about remaining in the bullpen and just being a dominant guy in that spot.”

That’s a bit of a reversal from earlier this winter, when Morejon was among a handful of relievers identified by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller as potential rotation converts. Moving players from the bullpen to the rotation has become quite popular around the game in recent years, and Preller’s decision to sign Seth Lugo as part of the club’s rotation mix and Lugo’s subsequent transformation into a bona fide top-of-the-rotation arm was a catalyst for that growing popularity.

Morejon was as sensible a candidate for such a conversion as any given his history as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, though given that 2024 was Morejon’s first healthy season as a big leaguer it’s understandable that the club has decided to keep him in the bullpen rather than risk more injuries by stretching him out. Stephen Kolek and Bryan Hoeing have also been discussed as potential converts to the rotation, but it remains unclear whether that’s still on the table for them entering camp or if, like Morejon, the Padres plan to keep them in relief roles for 2025. It’s even possible those decisions have not yet been made given the uncertainty surrounding the club’s rotation amid rumors of the club trading Cease or King.

Turning to the positional side of things, veteran third baseman Manny Machado spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) yesterday about the progress his elbow has made since undergoing offseason surgery last winter. That surgery cost him the final days of the 2023 season and kept him from returning to his typical post as the Padres’ regular third baseman until May, and continued to mix in occasional DH days throughout the first half. Machado noted that he dealt with the “lingering effects” of his surgery throughout the 2024 campaign, but made clear that “everything” has been different for him this offseason as he’s now “back to normal” for the first time post-surgery.

Whether that will be enough to help catapult the 32-year-old back into the .280/.352/.504 (130 wRC+) form he showed during his first four seasons in a Padres uniform remains to be seen, but it’s surely an encouraging sign for Padres fans that Machado is feeling healthier than he was last season, when he posted a 122 wRC+ with 3.6 fWAR. The veteran slugger has nine years left on the 11-year, $350MM deal he signed prior to the 2023 season, so Machado’s ability to maintain star-caliber production into his mid-to-late 30’s will be key to the Padres’ success over the coming decade.

While the Padres have been preparing for the coming season on the field and in the front office, a squabble between ownership stakeholders has been going on in the background. While the Padres announced back in December that Peter Seidler’s brother John Seidler was poised to take over as the franchise control person, that was seemingly put on hold when Peter’s widow, Sheel Seidler, filed a lawsuit against Peter’s other two brothers (and trustees of The Peter Seidler Trust) Matt and Bob Seidler. Matt Seidler subsequently filed a response to that lawsuit last week, and as the legal battle surrounding the role of Padres control person continues plenty of speculation has gone on among fans and media members about the future of the franchise.

As noted in a column by Matt Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times yesterday, however, one thing the Seidler brothers are resolute on is their commitment to owning the Padres. Shaikin notes that the brothers have “no plans to sell the Padres to anyone.” That apparently includes Sheel Seidler, whose legal counsel Dane Butswinkas, Shaikin reports, refused to answer whether or not she is attempting to buy her former brothers-in-law out of the franchise.

“Ideally, we would like to resolve this with the brothers,” Butswinksas said, as relayed by Shaikin. “However, for that to occur, it would take some level of cooperation from them. So far, we have seen no signs of that happening. The current path towards resolution, unfortunately, is through litigation, which we know can drag on for years and would be in no one’s interest.”

The possibility of a sale comes up in Shaikin’s piece, which MLBTR readers are encouraged to read in full, as part of a larger discussion about recent legal disputes between stakeholders within ownership groups in instances of divorce, illness, or death affecting a club’s primary owner. Those disputes, as Shaikin notes, have a history of being resolved through the sale of the team. Former Padres owner John Moores and, more recently, the Angelos family that formerly owned the Orioles are among previous owners who have sold their teams amid legal battles within the team’s ownership structure.

Dylan Cease Discusses Trade Rumors

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For the second consecutive season, right-hander Dylan Cease is the most talked about player in trade rumors as the winter gives way to Spring Training. The then-White Sox hurler was shipped to the Padres in mid-March of last year, just before San Diego started their season in Seoul. It remains to be seen if the club will turn around and deal him during the spring themselves one year later, but AJ Cassavell of MLB.com notes that Cease made clear he isn’t bothered by the rumors swirling around him at yesterday’s FanFest event.

“You just focus on the task at hand,” Cease said, as relayed by Cassavell. “It’s just part of the business, really.”

Cease went on to note how much he loves San Diego and added that he would “definitely” like to stay in town. It certainly remains possible that he’ll be a Padre in 2025 even if it’s difficult to imagine him returning to San Diego upon hitting free agency this offseason. As Cassavell notes, however, a trade might be the most sensible path for the Padres as they navigate a budget crunch with multiple significant holes in their projected 2025 lineup. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Cease bring back the sort of significant return that could address multiple needs for the Padres while also getting his $13.75MM salary off the books to clear the way for further additions.

With that being said, getting the right deal for Cease may be easier said than done. The Cubs, Twins, and Mets are among the teams that have been connected to Cease in recent days, but there have been some indications from both Minnesota and New York that a trade could be difficult to work out. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported earlier this weekend that the Padres are asking for “significant major-league value” in Cease talks, adding that rival executives believe the club is “emboldened” by the exceptional return they received from the Yankees in last winter’s Juan Soto deal. Meanwhile, Hayes reports that the Twins are unwilling to part with top prospects like Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Luke Keaschall at this time and prefer to offer a package of big leaguers who can help address San Diego’s needs in the lineup and rotation.

That might sound like the teams match up well at first glance, but Hayes adds that the specifics of the return package figure to be a sitcking point. He suggests that the Padres are likely to ask for one of Joe Ryan or Bailey Ober as the centerpiece of a deal, which is an ask that it’s hard to imagine Minnesota agreeing to given that both are established, quality mid-rotation arms with three years of team control remaining. Hayes notes that the Twins would prefer to offer a package headlined by a young starter like Zebby Matthews or Simeon Woods Richardson that would also include Trevor Larnach and Willi Castro. Woods Richardson posted solid back-of-the-rotation production for the Twins in his rookie season last year, with a 4.17 ERA in 28 starts, while Matthews struggled in nine starts at the big league level but remains the club’s top pitching prospect and is generally believed to project as a #4 starter in the majors long-term.

The value discrepancy between players of Ryan and Ober’s caliber and the likes of Matthews and Woods Richardson is significant, and the sides would need to move significant off their current stances in order for a deal to come together. It appears to be a similar story with the Mets, as Will Sammon of The Athletic recently described Cease coming to Queens as “unlikely” due to the expected acquisition cost. Whether that’s due to a lack of willingness to part with a high-end package in order to land Cease or if the club simply lacks the pieces necessary to get a deal done is unclear, however, as Sammon goes on to mention the club’s failed pursuit of Garrett Crochet earlier this winter. The Mets were among a number of teams interested in Crochet, but he ultimately was dealt to the Red Sox because, as Sammon writes, Boston was able to offer “higher-quality prospects” than the Mets were.

Sammon goes on to suggests that the Mets could swing a deal if the Padres’ asking price comes down through the spring or revisit talks at the trade deadline, when Cease would be less valuable due to an acquiring club no longer being able to extend him the Qualifying Offer. Of course, a Cease trade may be far less likely by the time the summer rolls around. The Padres will have to fill their vacancies in the lineup one way or another before the season begins, and if they manage to do so without dealing Cease it’s difficult to imagine the club then shifting gears and shipping Cease out in the middle of a pennant race unless they’ve fallen out of contention.

A.J. Preller: Padres Plan To Add “A Bat Or Two,” “An Arm Or Two”

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Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller spoke to the crowd at today’s FanFest event about the state of the club’s roster and his plans for the remainder of the offseason, as relayed by MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. In his comments, Preller indicated that he plans for San Diego to enter the start of the season with a “championship-caliber ballclub” and that in order to reach that goal the club will need to add “a bat or two” and “an arm or two” before the season begins.

It’s hardly a surprise that Preller plans to make additions to the club given the state of the roster. The only move of note the club has made this winter was re-signing Elias Diaz earlier this week. Diaz’s return removes one question mark from the positional mix, as he’ll solidify things behind the plate alongside Luis Campusano for the time being while Padres fans eagerly await the arrival of top prospect Ethan Salas, who reached Double-A late last year during his age-17 season but is far from guaranteed to be ready for any sort of big league exposure in 2025.

With the catcher position more or less sorted out, the Padres can now turn their attention to the rest of the lineup. Luis Arraez appears likely to be the club’s everyday starter at either first base or DH, but the club will need to add at least one other player to that mix alongside him. Additionally, the club has no clear successor to Jurickson Profar in left field after the fan favorite signed in Atlanta last week. Given those two holes in the lineup, Preller acknowledging that the club is in need of an additional bat or two before Opening Day rolls around late next month is to be expected.

His comment about adding another arm or two is more interesting, however. The Padres have a well-stocked bullpen as things stand and seem unlikely to make a significant addition there, but there have been some questions surrounding the club’s plans regarding their rotation. As things stand, the front of the rotation figures to be anchored by a one-two punch of right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King with veteran righty Yu Darvish slotting in third. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, however, appear to be up for grabs. Matt Waldron, Randy Vasquez, and Jhony Brito could all be in the mix for starts, as could relievers like Stephen Kolek or Bryan Hoeing who have been floated as potential rotation converts.

That’s certainly on the thinner side in terms of a rotation mix, but it’s not substantially thinner than the 2024 rotation. Joe Musgrove won’t pitch in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in October, but he made only 19 starts for the club last year. A full season from Darvish, who made 16 starts last year due to injury and a personal leave of absence, would make up those lost starts almost entirely. That’s made the rotation a less obvious target for upgrades than the lineup this winter, and has even led to questions about whether the club could look to deal from its rotation in order to upgrade other areas of the roster. Both King and Cease are poised to become free agents following the 2025 season, with Cease in particular drawing plenty of buzz in the rumor mill.

It’s far from ideal for a club with the stated goal of being a championship-caliber team to deal a front-line starter like Cease, but considering trades of players like Cease, King, and even Arraez is the reality San Diego’s front office faces as it tries to navigate a major budget crunch. San Diego doesn’t appear to be under a mandate to cut payroll below its current levels this winter, but they still appear to have little to no room in the budget for upgrades without first clearing payroll space elsewhere. Trading a rental player with a larger salary like Cease ($13.75MM) or Arraez ($14MM) would go a long way to improving the club’s ability to sign a player or two in free agency, to say nothing of the return package which could also be used to directly supplement the roster.

As shown by the club’s creative deals with King and Diaz in the past week, the Padres are willing to think outside-the-box on contract structures and could use that in order to bring in a handful of veteran role players even within the confines of what is clearly an extremely tight budget crunch. Those role players could either be used to supplement the roster’s needs directly, as was the case last year when the Padres signed and got significant production from extreme budget options like Profar, Donovan Solano, and David Peralta who lingered on the free agent market before landing in San Diego, or could instead be used to help replace the production of a player who was traded for a return that addresses other areas of the roster.

It’s difficult to speculate on specific players the Padres could target without knowing which player(s) will be traded and where they’ll be traded to, but free agency has a number of interesting veterans still available who could be fairly affordable or in some cases may even consider signing non-roster deals. Anthony Rizzo, J.D. Martinez, Jason Heyward, Mark Canha, and Alex Verdugo are among the many free agents who could be at least speculative fits for San Diego’s current needs and are unlikely to break the bank. As for the rotation, starting pitchers can often garner high annual salaries even late in free agency. That could make adding to the rotation difficult to accomplish without a trade that frees up payroll, though it’s possible that a swing man such as Jakob Junis or Jose Urena could linger on the market and sign at a discount as Michael Lorenzen did last winter.

No Extension Talks Between Padres, Michael King

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Yesterday, the Padres and right-hander Michael King avoided an arbitration hearing with a creative deal that guarantees King $7.75MM. The deal splits that guarantee between a signing bonus and the buyout on a 2026 mutual option in addition to his 2025 salary in order to slightly ease some of the financial issues facing San Diego as they look to upgrade their roster this winter. Despite the sides’ ability to come together on an unusual solution to their dispute over King’s salary for this year, however, the right-hander told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune) at the Padres’ FanFest event today that he has not been approached regarding a long-term extension that would keep him in San Diego beyond the 2025 season.

That there apparently has not yet been a conversation between the two camps about a long-term deal is an interesting development given previous reports that the club believes King to be more amenable to the possibility of an extension than fellow walk year righty Dylan Cease. Those rumors have led to a belief throughout the offseason that San Diego would prefer to deal Cease rather than King if they end up trading one of their two front-of-the-rotation arms amid their pursuit of pitching depth and lineup upgrades. That appears to still be the case, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the club is “not actively shopping” King in the aftermath of the sides reaching an arbitration agreement. Acee is quick to note that the new contract doesn’t necessarily preclude a trade from occurring, but it appears clearer than ever that the Padres’ preference is for the departing pitcher to be Cease if they wind up dealing one of their top arms.

As for King, the righty spoke to reporters (including Sanders) about the swirling trade rumors today, saying that he would be “shocked” if he were to be traded before adding that hearing your name in the rumor mill is “part of the business.”

“Obviously anything can happen,” King said, as relayed by Sanders. “I didn’t think I was going to get traded over here that offseason last year. Anything can happen.”

While it’s unclear whether King’s confidence that he’ll be in a Padres uniform on Opening Day and the club’s apparent preference for dealing Cease if one of the pair is traded will actually lead to King remaining in San Diego, it should be noted that the sides not yet having discussed an extension does not preclude them from doing so in the coming weeks. Extension negotiations between players and clubs frequently open after the start of Spring Training, and the Padres have been among the most prolific clubs in the sport when it comes to springtime extensions in recent years.

It was just two years ago that San Diego signed Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado, and Yu Darvish to a trio of lengthy extensions over the course of Spring Training 2023, and two years before that the club famously agreed to a massive $340MM contract with Fernando Tatis Jr. during Spring Training 2021. They’ve at least explored extensions with other players during the spring in recent years as well, such as Jackson Merrill last winter. Whether King will join the list of Padres player to put pen to paper on extensions just before reaching free agency remains to be seen, but even with no talks between the sides to this point the possibility of some discussions between the sides this spring can’t be ruled out.

Aside from San Diego’s hefty payroll commitments that have limited their flexibility in recent years, one potential obstacle for any King extension would surely be his unusual history. The right-hander posted an excellent season in 2024 with a 2.95 ERA in 173 2/3 innings of work, but that was his first season pitching as a full-time starting pitcher since 2018, during his age-23 season in the minor leagues. While King’s 39 starts since being put back in the rotation by the Yankees down the stretch last year have been electric, his ability to keep up with a 150+ inning workload for a second consecutive season will surely have a major impact on his value in free agency. Given the importance of his platform season, it wouldn’t be a shock if the sides struggled to reach an agreement on what fair value looks like even if they do engage in extension talks at some point before Opening Day.

Padres To Deploy Xander Bogaerts At Shortstop In 2025

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Longtime shortstop Xander Bogaerts headed into the 2024 season as the Padres’ new everyday second baseman, but he moved back to short in September to fill the void when Ha-Seong Kim was lost to a season-ending shoulder injury. With Kim now poised to join the Rays, the path is clear for Bogaerts to return to his old position. Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that Bogaerts will be the team’s regular shortstop in 2025, and that the veteran is “excited” about the opportunity.

The news isn’t necessarily a shock, as Bogaerts retook the position down the stretch and into the postseason while Kim was on the IL late last year. He’s far from the only player on the roster with shortstop experience, but president of baseball operations AJ Preller made it clear at the start of the offseason that he wasn’t enthused by the prospect of moving either of his former shortstops in the outfield, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill, back onto the infield dirt in 2025. There have been at least some indications throughout the winter that rival clubs have expressed interest in Bogaerts as a potential trade candidate but the veteran’s hefty contract has long made such an arrangement look unlikely. It’s hardly a shock that San Diego has him penciled in for the starting shortstop gig to open the season given the unlikeliness of a trade, particularly now that Kim has reached an agreement elsewhere that will shut the door on a reunion.

As Bogaerts enters his age 32 season in 2025, he’ll be looking to rebound from the worst campaign of his career last year. In the second year of his 11-year, $280MM contract with San Diego the infielder was limited to just 111 games by a fractured left shoulder and hit just .264/.307/.381 (95 wRC+) when healthy enough to take the field. Notably, Bogaerts began to look a bit more like himself after returning from injury in the second half with a .299/.338/.432 (117 wRC+) in 64 games after being activated from the injured list in mid-July. That’s more or less in line with the 119 wRC+ he posted during his first year in San Diego, when he was able to put together a campaign worth 4.6 fWAR. That was the seventh best season among all shortstops in baseball in 2023, and the Padres would surely be delighted by a similar performance in 2025.

With Bogaerts seemingly entrenched at shortstop, the rest of the club’s infield mix falls into place with Manny Machado remaining at third base while Jake Cronenworth slides over to second in place of Bogaerts. Luis Arraez stands as the current top candidate to handle first base as things stand despite his name frequently appearing in the rumor mill this winter, but the Padres preferred to use him as their DH for the majority of his time in San Diego last year. With at least one bat seemingly needed between first base and DH, where Arraez ends up playing could come down to what player is added to the 1B/DH mix alongside him. J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner are among the best remaining players available at DH in free agency, while first base has a handful of relatively affordable veterans available like Anthony Rizzo and Mark Canha.

Padres, Michael King Avoid Arbitration

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The Padres announced Friday that they’ve avoided arbitration with right-hander Michael King, coming to terms on a one-year deal with a mutual option for the 2026 season. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that King will be guaranteed $7.75MM, taking the form of a $3MM signing bonus, just a $1MM salary, and a $3.75MM buyout on a $15MM mutual option. King can boost his guarantee to $8MM, as the contract includes a $50K bonus for reaching 20 starts and bonuses of $100K for reaching 25 and 28 starts. The structure of the deal will perhaps free up a bit of 2025 budget for a payroll-crunched Padres club. King and his reps at Excel Sports Management had filed for an $8.8MM salary. The Padres countered at $7.325MM.

While the arrangement nominally extends the window of control over King, mutual options are at best a technicality; they’re almost never picked up by both sides. The player either outperforms the option value and declines in favor of a trip to free agency, or he underperforms and/or sustains an injury that prompts the team to decline and move on. It’s been more than 10 years since two parties agreed to exercise their end of a mutual option (Matt Belisle, Rockies in Nov. 2013).

Still, by including a mutual option on the contract, the Padres technically stick to the near-leaguewide file-and-trial mantra, wherein teams cut off negotiation on one-year deals once salary figures are exchanged. King’s deal is, of course, a one-year contract — but the presence of the option renders it moot for future arbitration negotiations. Even though there’s virtually no chance of the option being exercised, its mere presence means that King’s agreement cannot be used as a comp (for the Padres or for other clubs) when negotiating contracts with players who are comparable in terms of statistics or service time.

King, 29 (30 in May), was acquired from the Yankees as one of five players in last season’s Juan Soto blockbuster with the Yankees. He’d been primarily a reliever prior to his inclusion in that swap, though a terrific nine-start stretch late in the 2023 season had thrust him into the Yankees’ rotation plans. Instead, he had his first full season as a starter in San Diego rather than the Bronx, and the results were outstanding. In a career-high 173 2/3 frames, King turned in a 2.95 ERA with a 27.7% strikeout rate, an 8.7% walk rate and a 40.4% ground-ball rate. He now sports a 2.91 ERA in his past 392 2/3 innings, spanning the 2021-24 seasons.

As a free agent following the season, King’s name has floated around the rumor circuit for a Padres club that has had payroll questions all offseason. San Diego hopes to contend in 2025, so the only way they’d move King (or rotationmate and fellow pending free agent Dylan Cease) would be if the return included an immediate rotation replacement and additional big league-ready talent. Teams in search of rotation help will continue to inquire, as it seems inevitable that the Padres will eventually make some kind trade to free up payroll space and simultaneously plug some roster holes.

Mets Have Shown Interest In Dylan Cease

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The Mets are among the teams that have spoken with the Padres regarding Dylan Cease, writes Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reported this afternoon that the Cubs were also involved on the star righty.

Cease is one of the biggest names to watch over the next six weeks. San Diego has fielded interest in virtually all of their highly-priced players who could test free agency next offseason (e.g. Cease, Luis Arraez, Michael King, Robert Suarez). Every contender could be involved on Cease, who is coming off a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young balloting.

If he does move, it’d be the second straight winter in which Cease is dealt late in the offseason. The Padres acquired him from the White Sox midway through Spring Training last year. His first season with the Friars was excellent. He worked to a 3.47 ERA while striking out 224 batters over 189 1/3 innings. Cease has not missed a start since 2019. He has topped 200 strikeouts in four straight seasons and has two top five Cy Young finishes in the past three years.

San Diego has had a quiet winter as they navigate payroll restrictions and squabbling amongst their ownership group. The Padres only have three pitchers who’d be locked into their season-opening rotation: Cease, King and Yu Darvish. Trading either Cease or King would subtract from the rotation’s ceiling, but it stands to reason they’d demand at least one cheaper MLB-ready starting pitcher as part of the return. San Diego also needs to find a new left fielder after letting Jurickson Profar walk in free agency.

Last year’s Corbin Burnes trade serves as a template for what the Friars could demand for Cease. The Brewers netted two MLB-ready players who’d been borderline top 100 prospects (Joey Ortiz and DL Hall), plus the 34th overall pick in the 2024 draft, from the Orioles. Cease is slated for a $13.75MM salary in his final year of arbitration. While the Padres do not expect to work out a long-term deal with the Boras Corporation client, they’re trying to balance their long-term outlook against the goal of returning to the postseason this year.

Heyman suggests that the Padres could subsequently look to sign Jack Flaherty or Nick Pivetta if they deal Cease or King. That’d require an unexpected willingness to stretch the budget. Even if they look to short-term deals, Flaherty and Pivetta should each beat $13.75MM annually. Pivetta would also require draft pick forfeiture after declining a qualifying offer. That series of events would raise payroll and still leave San Diego with a hole in left field unless they address that via the hypothetical Cease trade.

The Mets have been reluctant to make long-term pitching investments under president of baseball operations David Stearns. They’ve addressed the rotation with a series of shorter-term moves. They brought back Sean Manaea for three years and (a partially deferred) $75MM, added reliever conversion pickup Clay Holmes on a three-year deal, and taken a two-year flier on Frankie Montas. That trio joins Kodai Senga and David Peterson in their projected starting five. Paul Blackburn, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning are depth options. It’s not a bad group but lacks a true ace, especially if Senga’s workload is limited after he barely pitched in 2024.

Padres Re-Sign Elias Díaz

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The Padres officially announced that they’ve re-signed catcher Elias Díaz to a one-year deal with a mutual option for the 2026 season. The ACES client is reportedly guaranteed $3.5MM — taking the form of a $1.5MM base salary for the upcoming season and a $2MM buyout on the $7MM option. San Diego had multiple openings on the 40-man roster and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Díaz, 34, finished the 2024 season with the Padres. After being released by the Rockies, he landed a minors pact with the Friars and was added to the roster just before the calendar flipped from August to September. He joined Kyle Higashioka and Luis Campusano on the roster, though Campusano would be optioned a little more than a week later. Díaz hit .190/.292/.429 in 24 plate appearances. For the postseason, the Friars carried Higashioka and Díaz on the roster over Campusano, though Higashioka took the bulk of the work as Díaz received only one plate appearance.

Both Díaz and Higashioka became free agents at the end of the season, leaving the Friars with a clear hole behind the plate. Higashioka signed with the Rangers. Campusano, who is still on the roster, seemed to have a breakout season in 2023 when he hit .319/.356/.491, but his line had a steep drop last year, finishing at .227/.281/.361. Since his defensive metrics were also poor, he was considered to be below replacement level on the year.

That made the position a clear target area for the Friars this offseason. However, the club has been remarkably quiet this winter. Once completed, this will be their first free agent signing. Their only trade so far was acquiring right-hander Ron Marinaccio after he was designated for assignment by the White Sox.

That’s surely related to the club’s uncertain payroll situation. The Padres spent aggressively while Peter Seidler was owning the club but it turned out to not be sustainable. In September of 2023, it was reported that the club was “out of compliance with MLB regulations regarding their debt service ratio.” Seidler died in November of that year. The 2023-24 offseason saw the Padres look to cut their payroll, which led to Juan Soto getting traded to the Yankees.

This winter, it once seemed that the club would have to dial back projected spending some more, which led to plenty of rumors involving players like Dylan Cease, Luis Arráez, Michael King, Robert Suarez and others. Reporting in recent days has suggested the situation isn’t quite so dire, with the Friars not necessarily having to cut spending. However, with holes in left field, at catcher, in the rotation and perhaps at shortstop, trading one of those players might still be necessary in order to free up money and then add elsewhere.

Regardless of the specifics, it’s clear that the budget crunch has made president of baseball operations A.J. Preller far less active than in other offseasons. It has also limited the club in addressing their catching situation. They signed Martín Maldonado to a minor league deal and have now made a modest investment with this deal.

Díaz generally gets better marks for his glovework than for his bat. For his career, he has hit .251/.304/.388 for a wRC+ of 78, indicating he’s been 22% below the league average hitter. Catchers generally come in about 10% below the league-wide mean, though Díaz will still come in below that lower bar. Between the Rockies and Padres last year, he hit .265/.313/.382 for a wRC+ of 81.

Behind the plate, outlets like FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast have generally ranked him as a poor framer but close to average in terms of blocking and strong when it comes to controlling the running game.

Díaz and Campusano now project as the club’s catching duo. Campusano still has an option and could be pushed to Triple-A, though the only other backstop on the 40-man roster is Brett Sullivan, who is about to turn 31 years old and has a .206/.243/.299 line in just 103 big league appearances.

Ideally, Campusano would regain his 2023 form and run with the job. He has less than three years of service time and therefore has the potential to be a cheap solution for his four remaining years of club control. But if he can’t rebound from his rough 2024, the Padres now at least have a competent veteran on-hand. Maldonado also gives them some seasoned non-roster depth and it’s also possible the club makes further moves to address the catching situation.

RosterResource now projects the Friars for a competitive balance tax number of $245MM. That’s just a bit above this year’s $241MM base threshold, though as mentioned, it’s possible that they change their financial situation via trades of players making notable salaries.

Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase first reported that Díaz had agreed to a one-year deal that guaranteed $3.5MM and included a mutual option. Álvarez-Montes also reported the specific salary breakdown and the option value.

Cubs, Padres Have Discussed Dylan Cease

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The Cubs are among the teams that have discussed right-hander Dylan Cease with the Padres, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. There’s no indication that the two sides are close to any sort of deal or that discussions were anything more than exploratory.

Cease, 29, has been bandied about the rumor mill for much of the winter as a payroll-crunched Padres club struggles to find ways to address myriad roster holes. A free agent following the 2025 season, Cease is slated to earn $13.75MM this year. Trading him for a controllable, lower-cost outfielder could affordably plug one lineup hole while also freeing up more than $13MM to backfill the rotation. Alternatively, the Friars could build a Cease deal around controllable, low-cost (and also less-proven) rotation pieces and look to reallocate Cease’s salary to a bat that’s yet to find a home in free agency or a trade target in the outfield. The Padres have at least gauged interest in impending free agents like Michael King, Luis Arraez and Robert Suarez (signed through 2027 but with an opt-out next offseason) under similar rationale.

The Cubs already have a deep rotation featuring Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd and Javier Assad. Free agent signee Colin Rea gives them a veteran sixth option, and Chicago has younger names like Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown and Caleb Kilian on the 40-man roster, with prospects Cade Horton and Brandon Birdsell climbing the minor league ladder.

Given that stock of arms, the Cubs don’t necessarily need another starting pitcher, but there’s an argument that some of that depth and their impressive stock of high-end position prospects could be condensed into a front-of-the-rotation arm like Cease. Morosi highlighted top outfield prospect Owen Caissie as a potential piece of a Cease trade in an on-air segment this morning, albeit in fairly speculative fashion.

Coupling Caissie or another touted outfielder like Kevin Alcantara with a controllable arm that lacks Cease’s ceiling but could be a third or fourth starter (e.g. Wicks, Assad) could hold some appeal to a Padres club that lacks rotation depth, a clear left fielder or designated hitter, and has a shaky-at-best collection of options to fill out manager Mike Shildt’s bench. Anecdotally, a trade involving Cease and Caissie would send each player back to their original organization; Cease was a sixth-round pick of the Cubs who was traded to the White Sox in exchange for Jose Quintana, while Caissie was a Padres second-rounder who went to the Cubs as part of the Yu Darvish trade.

Outfield is an area of depth for the Cubs, who have Ian Happ in left field, young Pete Crow-Armstrong in center and trade acquisition Kyle Tucker in right field. The acquisition of Tucker has pushed slugger Seiya Suzuki into a primary DH role, though he’ll surely still see some corner time depending on injuries or off-days for other members of the outfield. Tucker is a free agent at season’s end, but Happ and Suzuki are both signed through 2026 while Crow-Armstrong can be controlled all the way through 2030. Both Caissie and Alcantara are generally viewed as MLB-ready pieces who could step into the majors as soon as this season after posting big seasons in the upper minors in 2024. (Alcantara made a brief MLB debut late in ’24 already.) Infielder and fellow top prospect James Triantos also got a bit of work in the outfield in 2024. He’s on the cusp of his MLB debut as well.

The circumstances surrounding a potential trade of Cease are fairly similar to those of Corbin Burnes one year ago. While Cease has had a bit more volatility in terms of year-over-year results and doesn’t have a Cy Young Award to his credit, he’s a top-end starter with a relatively reasonable salary and one season of club control remaining. He’s unlikely to sign an extension, as was the case with Burnes, but could net a new team a draft pick if and when he rejects a qualifying offer next winter. That holds some inherent value and helps to offset the prospect loss required to pry Cease loose in a trade. The Orioles sent two MLB-ready players who’d garnered top-100 fanfare — infielder Joey Ortiz and lefty DL Hall — to the Brewers along with a 2024 competitive balance draft pick (No. 34 overall).

That was a steep price to pay, and perhaps Cease’s value isn’t quite to that same level, but it shouldn’t be far off. At the very least, it provides a rough blueprint for what San Diego could reasonably seek in exchange for a power-armed 29-year-old who landed second in 2022 American League Cy Young voting.

Payroll-wise, the Cubs have more than enough space to add Cease’s salary while still remaining comfortably south of the $241MM luxury threshold and leaving space for in-season acquisitions. RosterResource projects Chicago at a bit more than $207MM in luxury obligations after their recent acquisition of Ryan Pressly, giving them about $34MM of cushion between their current standing and that tax barrier.

Poll: Should The Padres Trade Dylan Cease Or Michael King?

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While the Padres no longer appear to be under a mandate to cut payroll for the 2025 season, signs still point to the club needing to make a trade or two in order to free up space in an already-maximized budget if they hope to address multiple holes in the lineup. That’s led to plenty of rumors surrounding the club’s pending free agents, the most valuable of whom are without a doubt right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King.

Trading a front-line starter like Cease or King might seem counterproductive for a club that’s already lacking in rotation depth, but it’s possible that the trade return for either player could involve a young starter or two while allowing the Padres to reallocate the freed up payroll space to the lineup. It’s surely under that logic that San Diego has explored Cease’s market and discussed King with rival clubs as well. The Padres have reportedly been more resistant to trading King under the belief that he’s more likely than Cease to sign an extension, but president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is generally open-minded when it comes to trade discussions. That the two sides face a nearly $1.5MM gap after exchanging salary figures and appear headed toward an arbitration hearing only adds an additional layer of complexity.

Cease, 29, is the bigger name of the two righties. A longtime top prospect with the Cubs and White Sox, the right-hander debuted on the south side back in 2019 and had developed into a legitimate front-end arm by 2021. Over the past four seasons, he’s pitched to a 3.52 ERA (120 ERA+) with a 3.32 FIP and an excellent 29.7% strikeout rate. Perhaps even more impressive than Cease’s strong rate numbers is his volume. The right-hander has been a workhorse by the standards of the modern game with 716 innings of work across 130 starts since the start of 2021. That’s the most starts and seventh-highest innings count of any starter in that time.

By contrast, King doesn’t offer the same level of star power or track record. The 2024 campaign was actually the first time King has acted as a full-time starter in the majors, and his 173 2/3 innings of work were not only a career high but the first time he had thrown even 105 innings since 2018. The results can’t be denied, however, and King was nothing short of excellent. He posted a 2.95 ERA (139 ERA+) with a 3.33 FIP. His peripherals are quite similar to Cease, as well; his 27.7% strikeout rate was a touch lower than Cease’s 29.4% figure, but his 8.7% walk rate was nearly identical to Cease’s 8.5%. King’s 6.2% barrel rate was far better than that of Cease.

Given that similar production and a price tag that’ll be $5-7MM less than that of Cease, it’s easy to imagine some clubs preferring King between the two. If King can fetch what the Padres deem to be a better return, moving the more affordable arm and keeping the more proven/durable righty makes some sense. On the other hand, King still seems likelier to sign an extension than the Boras Corp-represented Cease, and Cease has shown some year-to-year volatility. He posted a below-average ERA as recently as 2023.

If you were in Preller’s shoes and needed to free up some payroll space to address various holes on the roster, how would you proceed with your coveted rotation duo? Have your say in the poll below:

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