Major League Baseball’s hot stove season is officially here. Players are now eligible to sign with any MLB organization of their choosing if they are free agents. The San Diego Padres have several key decisions to make regarding multiple players. Perhaps the highest-profile free agent the Padres have is starter Dylan Cease, who is looking to receive one of the highest contracts given out this offseason.
Dylan Cease has some of the best stuff in baseball, but he has been inconsistent at times. Cease has an electric fastball and a hammer slider if he can locate it. He spent five of his seven career seasons with the Chicago White Sox before joining the Padres for the last two seasons. So, what could a potential Dylan Cease contract look like?
Dylan Cease Predicted to Receive a Seven-Year, $189 Million Deal
Even if Dylan Cease has come with some inconsistent performances in recent seasons, he still passes the durable and dominant test when right.
In a recent big board of the top 50 free agents, MLBTradeRumors.com handed out contract predictions for several free agents, and Dylan Cease was listed as the third-best free agent available, receiving a seven-year, $189 million deal:
“Cease may be the most durable pitcher in baseball, but in recent years heâs alternated between dominating and disappointing. After a 2.20 ERA, second-place Cy Young finish in 2022, Cease followed with a 4.58 ERA. He bounced back to a 3.47 ERA/fourth place Cy finish in â24, only to revert to a 4.55 ERA this year. You can imagine Cease ranking much higher on this list had those seasons occurred in a different order.”
GettySan Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease has made the most starts of any MLB pitcher over the last four seasons.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old starter leads all of MLB in starts since 2021 with 162, but he’s yet to finish one of those seasons with more than 190 innings, which indicates he’s unable to go deep into some of his starts. Despite not being able to go deep into games, Cease is essentially a lock for 200 strikeouts in a season, as his last five full campaigns have resulted in him reaching the 200+ strikeout mark.
Dylan Cease’s Free Agent Outlook
It’s unclear at this moment if the San Diego Padres are looking to reach a deal with Dylan Cease. Several teams across MLB need a frontline starter, but will they be able to open up the checkbook to acquire an arm of this caliber?
A few teams that immediately come to mind as potentially being in the Cease sweepstakes are the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, and Padres.
The one fatal flaw of Dylan Cease that may be holding his contract from reaching the $200 million mark is his command. He issued 71 free passes this season in 32 starts, and walked nearly 10% of the batters he faced. That is a turn off for GMs, but his ability to strikeout batters at one of the highest clips in MLB is likely why his contract evaluation is still so high. His 11.5 K/9 led Major League Baseball in 2025.
More MLB on Heavy:
-
Bold Prediction Has Giants Landing Twinsâ 3.42 ERA Starter
-
Phillies Trade Idea Lands Oriolesâ 2X All-Star as J.T. Realmutoâs Replacement
-
Cody Bellinger Receives Massive $175 Million Contract in Recent Prediction
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Recent Dylan Cease Prediction Features $189 Million Contract Projection appeared first on Heavy Sports.