The Padres made the decision not to ship off Dylan Cease at the trade deadline, despite being surrounded by numerous trade rumors. They chose to follow this path in hopes that the struggling right-hander could find his rhythm during the final stretch of the regular season, which made sense, based on his career numbers in the second-half.
It seemed as if the move was paying dividends, as in his first two starts post-trade deadline, Cease pitched a total of 11 innings, posted an ERA of 1.64, struck out 16 batters, and earned wins in both decisions.