Last offseason, the Padres traded Juan Soto knowing he would leave for greener pastures boatloads of money when his contract expired. Dylan Cease won’t command the same salary as Soto, but he is on an expiring contract and the Padres may be motivated to trade him for future assets. If they land Roki Sasaki, the probability of trading Cease will likely increase.
Multiple MLB team execs tell me prices for FA pitchers are high, and relatively few clubs are willing to pay them.
This creates incentives for *contenders* to listen to trade offers on their starting pitchers.