When Will Dylan Cease Make His Regular Season Debut For Padres?

Here's when Cease will start for San Diego.

The San Diego Padres pulled off a surprising trade before they departed for South Korea last week, acquiring Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for several pitching prospects.

Since the trade, Cease has thrown his first pitches in his new uniform ahead of the Padres' series against the Los Angeles Dodgers to begin the regular season on March 20 and March 21.

Even though Cease is in South Korea, he won't be on the team's 26-man active roster against the Dodgers. The teams were allowed to bring 31 players for the Seoul Series, including five inactive players.

Cease is expected to make his Petco Park debut in an exhibition game against the Seattle Mariners next week. He then will likely notch his first regular season start in the Padres' opening series against the San Francisco Giants on March 30 or March 31, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Cease pitched two innings against the LG Twins, striking out two batters, in an exhibition outing at Gocheok Sky Dome Sunday.

It makes sense that Cease will not immediately jump into regular season action for the Padres. The team had already tabbed Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish as their two starters for the Seoul Series.

Now, Cease has time to get acclimated to a new team, as well as get to know his new teammates prior to pitching for the Padres.

The 26-year-old is coming off of a down year in 2023, but has loads of potential if he returns to form this season. In addition, Cease adds a more than capable starter to their rotation, helping the Padres roster and rotation look more complete heading into the 2024 season.