Yankees could make one final trade in attempt to neutralize Dodgers in 2025

The New York Yankees and San Diego Padres are familiar trade partners, most recently pulling off the Juan Soto blockbuster last winter. And that move should buy the Yankees some good faith since it worked out nicely for both sides.

With Brian Cashman and the front office having gone quiet for some time now, perhaps it's time to call up AJ Preller, as the Padres endure ownership drama that could derail their short-term success. Yes, the Yankees could take advantage of that, but they could also help San Diego with their assets.

All offseason long, rumors have suggested Dylan Cease and Luis Arráez were on the trade block. The two are making close to $14 million in 2025 and are sensible trade candidates because they'll be free agents after 2025. The Padres aren't extending either of them based on all the other troublesome long-term contracts they have on their payroll right now.

The market for Arráez has somehow been more quiet than ever, but recent rumblings have pointed to the Minnesota Twins looking at a trade for Cease. The Twins are another team undergoing ownership problems alongside a payroll crunch. They are not a clear-cut destination for Cease by any means.

So where are the Yankees? If they aren't going to upgrade their offense, they might as well try and go toe-to-toe with the Dodgers in the pitching department. If they meet LA in the World Series again, it'll come down to which pitching staff can neutralize the opposing offense (and, of course, which defense doesn't crap the bed first).

Can Yankees pull off trade with Padres for Dylan Cease?

This isn't an unattainable move, either. Cease is a rental and isn't an extension candidate due to his reported desire to hit free agency. The Yankees wouldn't have to surrender a whole lot, and it would give them financial flexibility next offseason with another deal coming off the books.

Do the Yankees have an overflow of assets to part with here? Not necessarily. But neither do the Twins, who have a bottom-10 farm system and limited appealing major league trade pieces for the Padres.

What's stopping the Yankees from offering Clarke Schmidt, Everson Pereira and Jorbit Vivas? Or some variation of that where the Padres replenish Cease's spot in the rotation and get prospect value for the infield/outfield after the departures of Ha-Seong Kim and Jurickson Profar?

There's also the likelihood of San Diego holding onto Cease until the trade deadline when demand inevitably increases for frontline starters. But as far as we're concerned, based on the reports and rumors, Cease is as good as available right now, and there's no reason for the Yankees to refrain from exploring possibilities to bring the right-hander to the Bronx.

Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Dylan Cease, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman as your six starters for 2025? The Yankees got by with much less in 2024. At that point, if the Yankees need to get under the Cohen Tax threshold to avoid the 110% tax penalty, they could trade somebody like Mark Leiter Jr., who is making around $2 million in 2025. The Padres would be happy to take another cheap bullpen arm too, right?