This is an interesting trade from the Rays perspective. I understand why the Padres would be interested in it, but the Rays... On the one hand, Cease is viewed as a top pitcher and his 2025 stats bear that out - 3.49 xERA; 3.58 FIP; 3.37 xFIP; 2.2 fWAR (I don't care about ERA and W-L record). Littell is viewed as a Rays Magic Pixie Dust pitcher who will stop being good the moment he leaves the organization. His stats are weighted more old school though - 3.53 ERA and less toward the more advanced stats - 4.59 xERA; 4.83 FIP; 4.16 xFIP; 0.8 fWAR. So Cease is the better pitcher and it's not particularly close in my opinion, even if Cease has struggled to win games this year and has a higher ERA. The cost to get Cease is the Rays top catcher D.Jansen and a 29 year old rookie spark plug who gives 100% on every play and has become a fan favorite (though not as much as Chandler Simpson). The dropoff from Jansen to Campusano/Diaz would be severe though. Jansen has a 100 wRC+ bat and 0.8 fWAR on the season. Campusano and Diaz are negative contributors. If the two teams had to play the players received in this trade, San Diego comes out on top. However, the Rays could move Cease into their rotation and option/DFA both catchers. The problem though is that I'm not sure the Rays have a AAA catcher ready to play the stretch run in a playoff race. I'm also not sure it matters. The Rays aren't going anywhere as long as their Pen remains as bad as it is. Do the Rays want to sacrifice Mangum if their season is circling the drain? This is a hard trade to figure out. Does it make the Rays better? Does it matter for the 2025 season? I just don't know.