The San Diego Padres were quite impressed after acquiring Dylan Cease in a trade with the Chicago White Sox in March of 2024. He went 14-11 with his new club, holding down a 3.47 ERA across 189.1 innings of work.
However, this season, he has not performed as well. He has struggled on the bump, putting together an 8-11 record with a 4.59 ERA on 157 innings.
Cease has not been as consistent as he has been in previous seasons, and his command has a lot to do with it. He has a 3.8 BB/9, which is the fourth-worst among qualified starting pitchers.
Padres’ manager perplexed by Dylan Cease’s decline in performance
Padres manager Mike Shildt was asked about Dylan Cease’s decline over the year. According to Sports Illustrated’s Patrick Warren, San Diego’s skipper had a hard time explaining the reasoning.
“It’s interesting, but I don’t know how to explain it,” said Shildt. “You see these things take place in the course of a season. One year you do this, the next year you do that. In this case specific to Dylan, I don’t have a real clear explanation. You could say there would be more merit to it if he hadn’t had a longer career, where he’s normalized how well he’s pitched.”
However, none of this will matter if he heats up during the postseason. He has pitched well in his last two starts, and the club is hopeful that he can continue this trend. Cease will likely have two more starts before the regular season concludes.
