The San Diego Padres are in a firm position of an NL Wild Card spot as the standings stand today, but they are in a bit of a "lull" stretch, where they are losers of their last three games and have failed to gain ground in the NL West standings.
It is known that the Padres front office has an aggressive nature in both free agency and the trade market, and this offseason will be no different. San Diego will have to make major decisions, and if players who are impending free agents don't show up, that could be the end of their time as a Friar.
Dylan Cease has major free agency looming
Dylan Cease is on a one-year, $13.7 million deal, which, for the most part, has been a massive bust this season. He will once again be a free agent following the 2025 season, and San Diego has a tough decision on whether to re-sign him or let him go.
Bleacher Report recently ran a predictions piece on every team's impending free agent and had this to say about Dylan Cease leaving in free agency:
"Though his 3.55 expected ERA and 3.73 FIP suggest he's been unlucky, the 4.82 ERA Cease has over 27 starts this season is an ugly mark. Perhaps there's an outside chance he takes a qualifying offer to reset his value. "
"What's more likely is Cease declines the qualifying offer and signs a multi-year deal with an early opt-out, as the Padres gave Nick Pivetta ahead of this season."
The case to be made for Cease is that he had a stellar 2024 season. He finished fourth in the CY Young race, and rightfully so, posting 224 strikeouts in 189.1 innings to go with a 3.47 ERA.
However, this year has been bad and is really harming the Padres' rotation. What might make the most sense for the Padres is letting Cease walk and then potentially putting your money into a different starter. It will also depend on how much Cease demands in the market, which would likely be more than San Diego would want to offer.