Getty Dylan Cease
Afew months ago, the Chicago White Sox trading ace Dylan Cease this offseason appeared all but certain — but things have changed.
With less than four weeks before pitchers report to spring training, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported on January 17 that Cease is unlikely to move this winter, quoting an NL executive familiar with the situation.
“I would say Cease doesn’t get moved at this point,” the NL executive told Feinsand. “The White Sox are not budging on price, and teams don’t seem to have interest in paying that price.”
Cease went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 214 strikeouts in 2023, which was admittedly quite underwhelming after his career-year stats the previous season. In 2022, Cease’s 2.20 ERA was the third-best in MLB, and his AL Pitcher of the Month wins in both June and July made him the first pitcher in White Sox history to win the award in consecutive months.
The White Sox’s High Asking Price
Earlier in the offseason, trading for Cease was viewed as a substantially more budget-friendly option than signing a top free agent, but the White Sox’s asking price was seemingly a lot higher than teams were expecting.
On January 7, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported “(The White Sox) have had serious trade discussions with about a half-dozen teams, currently including the Yankees and Orioles, but no one has stepped up and is willing to offer a package of at least two top-100 prospects and two other players.”
After winning the AL Central in 2021, the White Sox looked at the 2022 season as the opening of their contention window, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. In 2022, Chicago finished the season with an 81-81 record, missing the playoffs and parting ways with manager Tony La Russa. Last season went even worse, with the White Sox finishing fourth in the AL Central with just 61 wins.
Chicago is now officially in a rebuild, and Cease is a great trade chip to get young players for the future. Still, the fact the White Sox have no real chance of contention this season means they don’t need to rush into a trade that doesn’t suit them, so it makes sense that they’re holding firm on their asking price.
As Nightengale put it, “If the White Sox don’t get what they want, they’ll hold onto (Cease) until they do.”
Cease’s Trade Market
Even with top free agents still available on the market, Cease has been one of the hottest pitching targets this offseason, especially considering he’s under club control for two more seasons.
On January 2, MLB Insider Jon Morosi reported the Baltimore Orioles were “very active” in trade conversations this winter, with Cease at the very top of their wishlist. The Orioles have a very young group of starters, and while there’s talent and even ace potential in their current lineup, they’d hugely benefit from adding a leader to the top half of the rotation.
The Yankees are another team who’ve been linked to Cease, including by Nightengale. On January 11, New York signed two-time All-Star Marcus Stroman to a two year, $37 million contract, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the team is now entirely out of the conversation to trade for Cease. Having lost Luis Severino, Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez and Domingo German this winter by way of either trade or free agency, the Yankees’ starting rotation is looking quite thin, even with Stroman now on the roster.
Still, both the Orioles and Yankees appeared turned off by the White Sox’s asking price, instead continuing to focus on the free agency market.
“There are still a lot of teams with some cash to spend,” an NL executive told Feinsand. “I think they’ll work hard to sign guys without trading away talent, and then if that doesn’t work, they’ll probably shift back to the trade market.”