Starting pitcher Dylan Cease has been among this winter's most popular trade targets. After the Milwaukee Brewers pulled the trigger on a late-offseason trade that sent staff ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, could the Chicago White Sox do something similar with spring training on the verge of starting?
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It doesn't seem likely at this point, according to a Feb. 2 report from MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
As I mentioned here, a Dylan Cease trade is more likely in June or July than in the short time before spring training begins. @MLBNetwork @670TheScore https://t.co/TAGP84k3ZV
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 2, 2024
This checks out with earlier reports as well. On Jan. 18, ESPN's Buster Olney said via X, "Two rival execs now believe the White Sox will wind up keeping Dylan Cease into the regular season. 'There is no pressure on them to lower their asking price,' one said. 'They'll get what they want at the (trade) deadline.'"
Two rival execs now believe the White Sox will wind up keeping Dylan Cease into the regular season. “There is no pressure on them to lower their asking price,” one said. “They’ll get what they want at the (trade) deadline.”
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 18, 2024
The White Sox have maintained a high price on Cease in trade negotiations. Their hurler is slated to make $8 million in 2024 and has two years of team control left before hitting free agency, so it makes sense. Those facts also make it not surprising that general manager Chris Getz wouldn't budge much from current demands. There's simply no rush to deal Cease right now. Sure, he'll have less team control left as we approach the trade deadline. However, he'd still command a hefty return, since the acquiring team would get him in their rotation for multiple seasons.
Chicago has continued to plant its flag in any trade talks by officially naming Cease as its opening day starter on March 28 against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The right-hander struggled to a 4.58 ERA and 1.42 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) in 177 innings for the White Sox in 2023. However, he's also a year removed from finishing second in the 2022 American League Cy Young Award voting. During that campaign, Cease posted a 2.20 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 227 strikeouts in 184 innings. He's surpassed the 200-strikeout plateau in each of the past three years despite not throwing more than 184 frames during any of those seasons.
His upside, low salary and team control still make him an attractive option in the trade market despite a rough 2023.
