Padres settle with Arraez ($14M) and Cease ($13.75M), per source
Luis Arraez and Dylan Cease were among the players with whom the Padres avoided arbitration ahead of Thursday¡¯s deadline, sources told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The club has not confirmed any of the deals.
Righty Michael King did not reach an agreement with San Diego before the deadline, though, and will exchange salary figures with the club.
Here are the deals that the Padres reached, per Feinsand:
? Arraez: $14 million
? Cease: $13.75 million
? Jason Adam: $4.8 million
? Luis Campusano: $1 million
San Diego also settled with left-hander Adrian Morejon on a one-year deal worth $2 million, according to a report by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The club has not confirmed that deal.
Utilityman Tyler Wade is also in his arbitration years, but he agreed to a one-year contract with a club option for 2026 ahead of last November's tender deadline.
Arraez, whose three batting titles have come in the past three years with three teams, was traded to the Padres from the Marlins last May 4. He led the National League with 200 hits in 2024 and slashed .314/.346/.392 across 150 games.
The three-time All-Star infielder enjoyed a run at history last summer, recording the longest streak of consecutive plate appearances without striking out (141) since Juan Pierre (147) in 2004.
Longest plate-appearance streaks without a strikeout (since start of expansion era in 1961):
? Dave Cash, 223 (1976 Phillies)
? Nellie Fox, 185 (1962 White Sox)
? Bill Buckner, 184 (1972 Dodgers)
? Greg Gross, 173 (1979-80 Phillies)
? Tony Gwynn, 170 (1995 Padres)
Arraez struck out only 29 times in 672 plate appearances in 2024, 22 fewer than the second-lowest total in the Majors (the Guardians' Steven Kwan had 51 strikeouts).
Heading into his age-28 season, Arraez was arbitration-eligible for the final time. He's been seen as a potential trade candidate, given his relatively affordable contract and the fact that he is set to become a free agent after the season.
While he's consistently impressed with his contact ability, Arraez has somewhat of a polarizing skill set given his limited power, speed and defensive capabilities. He also drew only 24 walks against his 29 strikeouts in 2024, but his lack of swing-and-miss at the plate can help lengthen any lineup.
Cease also joined the Padres via trade, having been dealt from the White Sox just before his new club departed Spring Training to open the 2024 season in Seoul, South Korea.
Cease put together a season to remember in his first year with San Diego. He threw the second no-hitter in Padres history against the Nationals in July, and he finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting after going 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA across 33 starts.
Morejon enjoyed a fully healthy season for the first time at the Major League level, posting a 2.83 ERA across 60 appearances (63 2/3 innings), and Adam was a lockdown acquisition from the Rays ahead of the Trade Deadline, allowing just three runs across 26 2/3 innings with the Padres. Both are under club control through 2026.
King, who arrived in San Diego as part of the five-player return for Juan Soto in December 2023, excelled in his first full season as a Major League starter. He set a career high with 173 2/3 innings and went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA across 31 games (30 starts), proving the Soto deal to be rather mutually beneficial for the Yankees and Padres.
After the two sides exchange figures, an arbitration hearing will be scheduled, though it is still possible for King and the Padres to reach agreement on a new contract before the hearing takes place.