Mets Must Make Bold Dylan Cease Trade to Have World Series Hopes amid MLB Rumors

The New York Mets might be one starting pitcher away from turning their World Series dreams into a reality.

One specific starting pitcher, actually.

It's San Diego Padres hurler Dylan Cease, who has made a surprise appearance on the trade market. Per ESPN's Buster Olney, the Mets are among the teams "that have talked about" Cease, whom the Padres would ostensibly use to address other areas of weakness on their roster.

Cease, who can reach free agency after this season, has had an up-and-down year, but he could be on course to make 30-plus starts for the fifth consecutive season. That durability alone could hold major appeal to the Mets, whose ace, Kodai Senga, has thrown all of 86 innings since the start of last season.

Plus, New York could use a co-star to help Senga anchor the rotation.

David Peterson has been fine in that role so far, but he's also a 29-year-old (30 in September) with a 3.84 career ERA. Clay Holmes' 3.48 ERA is his highest in four seasons, and you'd have to go back even farther to find the last time he's had a smaller gap between his average strikeouts (7.1) and walks (3.6) per nine innings pitched.

Sean Manaea had a great 2024 campaign, but he just made his first start of this season following a lengthy layoff caused by an oblique strain. Griffin Canning was shelved by a ruptured Achilles, and Tylor Megill is working his way back from an elbow strain. Frankie Montas has an ERA north of 4.50 for the second consecutive season.

In other words, this is a rotation that could use a lift. And Cease can provide exactly that.

His 3.49 FIP looks a lot better than his 4.64 ERA, so regression alone might improve his numbers. Plus, you only have to go back to last season to see what he's capable of producing: a 3.47 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP and 224 strikeouts (against 65 walks) over 189.1 innings.

While Jon Heyman of the New York Post characterized a Cease trade as a "major long shot" for the Mets, that's different than saying it's impossible. And if San Diego wants MLB-ready talent in return, New York can scratch that itch.

Will Sammon of The Athletic recently reported that New York could deal from its infield depth to fill other needs. The Mets have a quartet of young, cost-controlled contributors in Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña to dangle on the market.

Now, it would surely take more than one (or even a couple) of those players to get a deal done for Cease, but building a package around one or two of them and some minor-league prospects might pique the Padres' interest.

If it does, New York should quickly move to get a deal done. Starting pitching isn't the club's most glaring need (bullpen depth takes that cake), but it's an area the club should still look to upgrade if it plans on making a deep playoff push.

Cease, a top-five finisher in Cy Young voting two of the past three seasons, should be that upgrade. Bring him to the Big Apple and help him get back on track, and the Mets would give themselves a pulse in the World Series race.