San Diego

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Heyman’s update comes on the heels of ESPN’s Jeff Passan reporting just a few hours earlier that the Yankees and Padres were continuing to discuss a potential Luis Arraez trade. The 27-year-old three-time batting champion, who is recovering from offseason surgery on his left thumb, would represent an upgrade for New York at the keystone with Jazz Chisholm Jr. moving over to third base.

That alone isn’t really news since most teams at least listen when another team inquires about a player. However, the Padres just acquired Cease last season and seem to be at least open to the possibility of moving him this year, which is noteworthy. The biggest impact on Dylan Cease’s trade market is likely Roki Sasaki If the Padres were to land Roki Sasaki in free agency then they would add him to a rotation that includes Cease, Michael King, Yu Darvish, and Matt Waldron. The Padres could feel like that rotation is deep enough to move Cease for an outfielder, but it feels like a long shot.

On one hand, the Yankees do have a hole at second base and a lineup filled with players who have elite power and issues with consistent contact. Arráez, one of the best contact hitters in baseball, would be a great counter to those big bats. On the other hand, the Yankees have a first baseman in Paul Goldschmidt and a DH in Giancarlo Stanton, which means Arráez would need to play second base where he is a well below-average defender. There are no rumors yet on what it would take for the Yankees to trade for Arráez, but this would be the third time Arráez has been traded in three years which should tell you a lot about how hard teams have found it to find a place for him in their lineup despite his elite contact rates.

That would leave the 23-year-old hurler 72 hours to make his final decision before his posting window expires on January 23. Romero also notes that the Padres, Dodgers and Giants are among the top contenders to sign Sasaki. It’s possible that other teams work their way into the mix as Sasaki and his team conduct further visits in mid-January, but for now those appear to be the front-runners.

We’re shocked 10 teams didn’t bother to make at least an initial pitch to Sasaki at all. Wolfe added that his client is currently back in Japan with his family determining his next steps, which will most likely include narrowing his potential destinations, after several in-person meetings with prospective clubs earlier this month in Los Angeles. The 23-year-old phenom, whose posting window doesn’t close until January 23, is expected to make his final decision at some point in mid-to-late January. We’re fairly confident at least a half-dozen teams have met with Sasaki at this point including the Dodgers, Padres, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Rangers and Giants.

Brosseau played in 244 major league games, hitting .242/.313/.428, from 2019-23, but he spent all of last year in the minors and wound up batting .263/.356/.417 with 15 homers in 405 plate appearances for the Triple-A affiliates of the Royals and Mets. If the season started tomorrow, Brosseau would probably claim a spot on a barren Padres bench. The club is certain to keep adding, though.

Roederer was a second-round pick of the Cubs back in 2018 and never wound up making it to the majors. The 25-year-old outfielder batted .186/.306/.311 with six homers and seven steals in 369 plate appearances last year between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa.

Gómez was a notable power-hitting prospect with the Cardinals a couple years ago when he launched 39 round-trippers in the upper minors during the 2022 campaign. Unfortunately, he never quite panned out for St. Louis and was ultimately released a couple months ago without ever reaching the big leagues. The 26-year-old outfielder will get a fresh start in San Diego where he’ll likely head to Triple-A El Paso to open next season.

Gillaspie was non-tendered last month by the Padres, but winds up returning as extra organizational relief depth. The 27-year-old righty made nine relief appearances last year for San Diego, posting an inflated 7.15 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 7/2 K/BB ratio across 11 1/3 innings.

The 25-year-old former top prospect was non-tendered by the Padres back in November. He’s still in the process of recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in May and isn’t expected to be ready to return until after the All-Star break in 2025.