Updated Post: Jan. 30 at 6:30 PM
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that the Mets are in talks with the Padres revolving around righty Dylan Cease.
Heyman mentioned that the Cubs are also involved in Cease talks but seem more reluctant to give up their top prospects, specifically infielder Matt Shaw. If Shaw is off-limits, San Diego may prefer the Mets prospects to what Chicago has to offer. Heyman adds that San Diego is willing to listen on “just about all” of their players except Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Original Post: Jan. 29 at 7:06 PM
Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday that the Mets have spoken to the Padres about acquiring Dylan Cease and Michael King, whom San Diego has made available in trades. The Braves are also among the teams interested in both pitchers. According to Ragazzo, the Mets seem to be more interested in King.
Both Cease and King are on one-year deals, and Ragazzo says both will require steep hauls to acquire them, Cease in particular. The Mets, per Ragazzo, have discussed with the Padres about trading a top 10-15 prospect to get King in a deal. With the Mets already having Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea in the rotation, it’s no surprise that the team will likely try to add King more than Cease. King was famously sent to San Diego by the Yankees as part of the Padres Juan Soto trade.
In 2024, Cease went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA (118 ERA+) and 224 strikeouts with a WHIP of 1.067, and a 4.8 fWAR. King also performed well after arriving in San Diego, going 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 201 batters, a WHIP of 1.192, and a 3.9 fWAR. You can check out our trade profile for King here.
The Mets still have some work to do before the start of the season. David Stearns has recently added to the bullpen by signing A.J. Minter, and on Wednesday, he brought back Ryne Stanek.
