As the San Diego Padres continue to nip at the heels of the spiraling Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the West, general manager AJ Preller has been hard at work trying to creatively improve the team.

Despite their need for starting pitching depth heading into the stretch run, the Boston Red Sox recently rejected an offer from the San Diego Padres for a deal involving Jarren Duran and Dylan Cease.

Despite sitting at just 3-10 this season with a 4.59 ERA, Cease is a proven ace who's pitched at a high level since his MLB debut in 2019. Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has been a favorite of the Padres for a while now and, with San Diego's apparent willingness to now move off the righty, the two squads could kill two birds with one stone here.