Cubs Dylan Cease trade proposal after Justin Steele injury

Cubs receive: Dylan Cease

Padres receive: Shota Imanaga, Moises Ballesteros (Cubs No. 4 prospect, MLB No. 65)

Cease is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but he is up for a massive payday at season’s end. The lucrative contract that he is expected to demand may be too pricey for the Padres’ budget because they already have so many highly-paid stars under contract. However, the Padres wouldn’t want to trade him for a haul of just prospects, as they are still looking to compete for the World Series this season.

In fact, with a 14-4 record, the Padres have the most wins in baseball. They are ahead of fellow powerhouse teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants in the National League West standings. By trading for Shota Imanaga, the Padres would only take a slight step back in terms of production and talent, but they’d get a really good pitcher who is under contract for up to three more seasons after this one.

Imanaga’s first season in MLB after coming over from Japan was last season, and he lived up to the hype that surrounded him in NPB. Imanaga was an All-Star last year, as he threw for a 2.81 ERA. His numbers are even better this season, evidenced by his 2.22 ERA.

However, Imanaga is a couple of years older than Cease, and the Padres pitcher is clearly one of the best players in baseball. The Cubs could view this trade as an upgrade to the major league roster with little sacrifice to their stacked farm system. The Cubs have seven top 100 prospects, according to MLB.com, and they only lose one of them in this deal.

Can the Padres win the World Series without Dylan Cease?

Dylan Cease is the ace on the Padres staff, so trading him away while sitting at the top of the NL standings would be a risky proposition. The team can’t afford to slow down because the Dodgers and Giants are right on their tail. While Imanaga wouldn’t be much of a downgrade compared to Cease, and Moises Ballesteros would be a nice addition for the farm system, the Padres shouldn’t trade Cease this year, at least not while they are hot.

The team’s window to win a championship is now, and they shouldn’t risk a postseason run this year just to avoid losing Cease in free agency. After all, if the Padres were able to win the World Series, it is possible the pitcher would return to the team on a discount. Even if he left in free agency, going all in this year would still be worth the risk.

The Padres are stacked on offense. Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Luis Arraez are all superstars. The team’s pitching staff is pretty solid, too, but Cease is the player who holds it all together. However, if the Padres start to fall down the standings, then they should consider a Cease trade. In that case, this proposal from the Cubs would be one of the best that they could get.