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Starting pitcher Dylan Cease has been a popular trade target this winter. But as spring training gets set to start, he’s still a member of the Chicago White Sox.
With the Milwaukee Brewers recently trading ace hurler Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, could the White Sox follow suit with a trade before Opening Day? Unless something drastic happens, it seems unlikely based on an update from general manager Chris Getz on February 12.
“I expect him to be our Opening Day starter,” Getz said when talking to the media. Chuck Garfien of NBC Sports Chicago was among those to capture the soundbite from the Sox executive.
Chris Getz on Dylan Cease: “I expect him to be our Opening Day starter.”
Manager Pedro Grifol had already named Cease Chicago’s Opening Day starter for their March 28 game against the Detroit Tigers back on January 26, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Getz proclaiming the right-hander will take the ball for Game 1 of 162 wasn’t shocking. However, his expectation of him still being with the club is new information since it’s been a couple of weeks since Grifol made the initial announcement.
Cease Is Still in Chicago Because of a High Asking Price
The White Sox haven’t had a lack of interest in Cease on the trade market. It’s no secret that he’s still on the South Side because of Chicago’s high asking price. The New York Yankees were a team that had been involved in trade talks. Things broke down when outfielder Spencer Jones — the Bombers’ top prospect after 2023, per MLB.com — was asked to be part of any potential package for Cease.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman also reported on January 26 that the White Sox’s asking price for Cease included “the sun and the moon,” according to a general manager he spoke with.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale said on January 7 that Getz and his front office have been holding out for “two premium prospects and two others in return” for the right-handed hurler. Chicago’s asking price probably won’t change much during the regular season because of Cease’s current contract situation.
He’s scheduled to make $8 million in 2024, per Spotrac. The 2022 American League Cy Young Award runner-up is also under team control through 2025. So, if a team acquires him ahead of the trade deadline, they’ll also have him in their rotation for the following season.
A Deal Could Realistically Come Together at Any Time
A trade involving Cease hasn’t seemed close this winter. However, that doesn’t mean something can’t come together quickly. A spring training injury could force an anticipated contender to engage with the White Sox and approach their steep asking price. If not then, it could happen early in the season, right before the trade deadline, or maybe not until next winter.
“It’s ever-evolving in terms of the urgency of other clubs,” Getz said in a January 9 video conference with reporters, per a report from ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “It could be in the offseason, it could at the deadline, it could be in May. There’s just so many different factors when you’re talking about 29 other clubs.”
The White Sox aren’t expected to be competitive in 2024. Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projections have Chicago finishing last in the American League Central and failing to win 70 games. As long as the right situation presents itself, it seems likely they’ll go ahead and make a deal.
It just doesn’t appear as though it’ll happen before March 28.
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White Sox GM Gives 1-Sentence Update on Dylan Cease Trade Negotiations