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The San Diego Padres are at the center of recent MLB trade rumors, boasting several quality trade chips such as Michael King, Dylan Cease, Luis Arraez and Robert Suarez.<\/p>\n
But among these four intriguing candidates, no one has received more interest than Cease, a high-level starter.<\/p>\n
Cease performed well in 2024, posting a 3.47 ERA. However, it was his ERA of 2.20 from 2022 that makes him such a coveted target. Still, Cease is only a one-year rental; he will be a free agent after the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
This makes trading for him a bit of a gamble. Unfortunately, the Padres\u2019 expectations have been exorbitant for a rental player.<\/p>\n
This asking price forced theMets from the table. Now, the Padres have turned their attention to the Orioles.<\/p>\n
In a recent discussion, GM AJ Preller asked for Jordan Westburg, Samuel Basallo, and Coby Mayo from the O\u2019s. Rightfully so, this offer was instantly rejected. The Padres, who are going through a quick structural reorganization, are looking for a one-and-done rebuild. For a one-year rental, this price is out of the question.<\/p>\n
But the Orioles do have one intriguing player they could part with that might be a better prize than the Padres will receive for Cease. No, his name isn\u2019t Jackson Holliday.<\/p>\n
Heston Kjerstad was recently a top prospect for the Orioles. His career batting average in the minors stands at .304.<\/p>\n
His first glimpse of the big leagues in 2023 was somewhat rough, but he came back in 2024 to rather encouraging results.<\/p>\n
In 99 major league at-bats, Kjerstad posted a slash line of .253\/.351\/.394\/.745 with four home runs showing he has a knack for getting on base even with a middling batting average.<\/p>\n
Kjerstad would be a hard prize top for any team dealing a one-year rental. And considering no one is willing to meet the Padres\u2019 astronomical demands, this may be their best shot to land a potential star.<\/p>\n
If Preller can lower his demands, this may be a win-win trade.<\/p>\n
The Orioles are no stranger to trading for a one-year rental ace. Last offseason, they traded Joey Ortiz and DL Hall along with a draft pick for Corbin Burnes.<\/p>\n
Now, without Burnes, the Orioles will enter the season with Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton. Since it isn\u2019t yet clear what they\u2019ll get from Sugano, adding Cease would provide them with a clear ace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The San Diego Padres are at the center of recent MLB trade rumors, boasting several quality trade chips such as Michael King, Dylan Cease, Luis Arraez and… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n