Dylan Cease. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Padres manager has huge reaction to new co-ace's spring debut

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 3/18/24

Starting pitcher Dylan Cease made his San Diego Padres spring debut on Monday in South Korea, less than one week after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.

The right-hander's appearance came against the LG Twins of the KBO League just three days ahead of the Padres' season-opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manager Mike Shildt dished major praise upon his new co-ace, who will be joining a rotation that already includes five-time All-Star Yu Darvish and one-time All-Star Joe Musgrove.

Dylan Cease was impressive today, reaching 96-97 mph with his fastball. His secondary pitches were sharp, too. He gave up one hit — a Ji Hwan Oh solo home run — over 2 innings. @MLBNetwork https://t.co/3xHHRqTuWU
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 18, 2024

Mike Shildt’s summary of Dylan Cease’s impressive @Padres debut:

“Wow. Good addition. Holy crap. I got a lot smarter . . . He’s going to help us a ton.”@MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 18, 2024

Unlike fellow stars Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, Cease was able to get in some actual starts this offseason while he was still a member of the White Sox. Both Snell and Montgomery are still free agents, so haven't had the chance to pitch in live games.

Cease, Darvish and Musgrove give San Diego a formidable trio that is the best in the NL West on paper, especially given the injuries to the Dodgers' rotation.

Cease was one of the best pitchers in MLB in 2022, going 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 227 strikeouts in 184 innings pitched covering 32 starts, but regressed last season. Cease went just 7-9 and saw his ERA increase by more than two runs (4.58 and his WHIP skyrocket to 1.41, while setting career highs in hits (172), runs allowed (98) and walks (79).

The move to southern California should be beneficial for the 28-year-old, as he will now be backed by a better offense and will make half of his starts at more pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

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