MLB Rumors: Dylan Cease Trade to Red Sox Seen as 'Long Shot' amid Cubs, Orioles Buzz

It remains to be seen where Dylan Cease will pitch during the 2025 season, but it is reportedly unlikely he will suit up for the Boston Red Sox.

Rob Bradford of WEEI noted Monday that Boston trading for the San Diego Padres pitcher remains "a long shot" in large part because the Red Sox do not want to give up right fielder Wilyer Abreu in a potential deal.

Abreu is coming off his first full season in the major leagues when he won a Gold Glove and finished sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting. He is also just 25 years old and figures to be a building block for the foreseeable future.

As for Cease, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reported Sunday that San Diego is shopping him around this spring and was at least in touch with the Red Sox. A source told McAdam that Boston will go through its "due diligence" and "monitor the market" even though it isn't aggressively pursuing the right-hander to this point.

The update came after both the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles had been seen as potential landing spots for Cease at times this offseason.

Boston has missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons and has responded with a busy offseason. It added Alex Bregman, Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Patrick Sandoval and Aroldis Chapman, among other moves, and seems to be making a serious push to return to playoff-contender status in 2025.

Adding Crochet, Buehler and Sandoval to the starting rotation means the front office doesn't have to engage in any Cease conversations with the urgency of a team that hadn't already bolstered its pitching.

But Cease would still be an excellent addition for any team.

The 29-year-old finished in fourth place in National League Cy Young voting last season with a 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 224 strikeouts in 189.1 innings. It was his first year pitching in the National League after previously playing for the Chicago White Sox, and he wasted little time adjusting and dominating.

Yet he is under contract for just one more season, and it seems like the Red Sox aren't willing to give up one of their young impact players in a possible deal.