MLB insider sheds light on $108,000,000 Padres star's appeal in the offseason market

While the Los Angeles Dodgers have been one of the most active teams in the offseason, their NL West rivals, the San Diego Padres, have been relatively quiet in the market.

One of the biggest objectives for the Padres would be shedding payroll in 2025 and they have reportedly put starter Dylan Cease on the trading block. The two-time All-Star has been one of the most consistent starters since 2020 and is entering his final contract year in 2025. He is valued at $108,819,540, per Spotrac.

Cease and the Padres avoided arbitration earlier this month after agreeing to a one-year, $13.75 million contract for 2025. MLB insider Robert Murray talked about Dylan Cease's market on "The Baseball Insiders" podcast (23:20 onwards):

"Dylan Cease's gonna have a pretty huge market because I mean if he's available, which the Padres are listening, that's different from available. After all, teams listen to 99.999% of the players. That's just like the reality of how this goes. That doesn't mean the player is going to get traded, It just means you're doing your job properly.

"But Cease is going to draw a big interest. He is a player who is entering the final year of his contract, so it would be a possible rental situation especially with his agent being Scott Boras. But I would not be surprised if he is indeed moved."

As Robert Murray mentioned, Dylan Cease is represented by Scott Boras and several Boras clients have opted for rentals before their final contract year. Juan Soto is the most recent Boras client to follow that path as Soto was traded to the New York Yankees by the Padres for the 2024 season.

The Dominican hit free agency after the 2024 season and commanded a record-breaking deal from the New York Mets this offseason.

Minnesota Twins rumored with a potential move for Dylan Cease

However, Cease hasn't had much interest from teams this offseason, according to Murray, who also cited Dan Hayes' report of a potential interest from the Minnesota Twins.

"I don't believe anything is on the doorstep," Murray said. "But what the Padres are trying to do right now is they're also trying to upgrade the catcher spot, and they obviously signed Martin Maldonado, but that was a minor league contract, and they've had conversations with the Twins about Christian Vazquez."

Hayes reported that the Padres are interested in upgrading the catching position with a trade for Christian Vazquez. Although Hayes claimed it to be "unlikely," the Twins could be open to a trade for Cease.