Dylan Cease rumors: Ranking 5 trade suitors as offseason slows to a crawl

The Chicago White Sox have made it known to teams that they’re willing to deal Cease as they attempt to retool their roster, but with Chicago asking for an absurd amount in return, no deal has transpired yet. With one star pitcher finally getting traded, the White Sox might feel more urgency to move their ace.

Corbin Burnes heading to Baltimore should mean that the White Sox now have an idea of what they can realistically get for Dylan Cease. Perhaps Cease’s value is a bit higher than Burnes because he has an extra year of team control, but the fact that Burnes is a better pitcher plays a role as well.

The White Sox don’t have to trade Cease right now as he has another year of club control, but there’s no arguing that his value likely won’t be any higher than it is right now. Capitalizing on his premium value before it’s too late should be in Chris Getz’s mind as the offseason comes to a close. These five teams could use a pitcher of Cease’s caliber and have the assets to get a deal done.

5) Trading for Dylan Cease would make the Braves undisputed favorites in the National League

The Atlanta Braves trading for Chris Sale suggests that they checked in on Cease and decided that the price was too high. While it’s certainly less than likely that Atlanta will pull off a Cease trade before the regular season, it shouldn’t be an impossibility. The fit still makes sense, and with the Dodgers continuing to act aggressively on the market, the Braves should not be done trying to upgrade their roster.

Atlanta enters the 2024 campaign as one of the clear favorites to not only win the National League Pennant but the World Series. If the Braves can somehow add Dylan Cease to the team that they have, they should be thought of as the favorites in the National League.

Atlanta has arguably the best duo leading their rotation with Spencer Strider and Max Fried, but the other three starters come with some question marks. Can Chris Sale stay healthy? How good will Charlie Morton be at age 40? Which version of Bryce Elder will we see?

In terms of assets, the Braves don’t have the best farm system in the world but do have two stud pitching prospects in A.J. Smith Shawver and Hurston Waldrep who the White Sox would covet. Atlanta can even dangle Bryce Elder in talks, and he should be valuable considering the fact that he’s had success at the MLB level and comes with five years of team control.

It’d hurt to give up the package Chicago is asking for, but if it results in a World Series win, nobody will care. Plus, with Cease being a Georgia native, the possibility of him signing one of the Alex Anthopoulos patented extensions can’t be ruled out, even with Scott Boras representing him.

4) The Dodgers can continue to dominate the offseason by trading for Dylan Cease

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had one of the best offseasons in MLB history, signing Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, and even James Paxton to MLB deals while also trading for Tyler Glasnow. They added a plethora of star-level players and an MVP in Ohtani to a roster that already won 100 games this past season and has won at least 100 in each of the last four full seasons (excluding 2020).

Adding Dylan Cease on top of everything else Los Angeles has done this offseason would be completely unfair, yet it’s exactly what Andrew Friedman should be trying to do. It won’t be as easy as it once was after the Dodgers decided to trade Michael Busch to the Cubs, but they still have plenty of pieces that the White Sox would want.

If Chicago is seeking young pitching, the Dodgers have that in droves. Bobby Miller presumably wouldn’t be available, but guys like Emmet Sheehan, Nick Frasso, Gavin Stone, and Kyle Hurt are just some of many pitchers the Dodgers can dangle in trade offers. In terms of prospects, the Dodgers are well-equipped even after the Glasnow trade, boasting one of the best farm systems in the league led by catcher Daulton Rushing.

Cease would be a huge addition in large part because of the question marks surrounding every pitcher they have. Injury concerns revolving around guys like Glasnow, Paxton, Kershaw, and Walker Buehler are very real. Adding a durable arm like Cease who has made at least 32 starts in each of the last three seasons would provide a huge boost.

3) Dylan Cease is a cheap ace that the Padres desperately need

The San Diego Padres have made their goal for this offseason abundantly clear. They’d like to shed costs. They did so by trading Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees while also letting free agents like Seth Lugo, Nick Martinez, Michael Wacha, Josh Hader, and Blake Snell sign elsewhere without competition.

What the Padres also want to do is remain competitive. Instead of acquiring a prospect-laden package in a Soto deal, San Diego got players who were either close or MLB-ready so they could maybe push for a Wild Card spot. Instead of trading Ha-Seong Kim coming off a breakout season in the final year of his contract, the Padres are keeping him to try and make the playoffs.

Trading for Dylan Cease would give the Padres an ideal replacement for Snell, and the fact that he’s only making $8 million this season means he’s an affordable target for them to consider. The Padres desperately need starting pitching help, and Cease is the best starter they can realistically get without breaking the bank financially.

While the Padres obviously traded a lot of prospects to get Juan Soto a couple of years ago, they still have a strong farm system with five top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Ethan Salas is probably untouchable, but a package including a combination of players like Jackson Merrill, Robby Snelling, and even the recently acquired Drew Thorpe could be something the White Sox listen to seriously.

2) If the Red Sox won’t spend on a frontline starter, they should trade for Dylan Cease

The Boston Red Sox have infuriated their fan base by refusing to spend money the way most big market teams do. They’ve finished in last place in the American League East in back-to-back seasons and three times in the last four overall, yet they’ve shown absolutely no urgency to turn things around. Red Sox fans have every right to be furious about that.

Boston entered the offseason with a glaring need to upgrade their rotation. We’re here in mid-February, and it can be argued that the rotation looks worse now than it was last season. Lucas Giolito will more likely than not give Boston more innings than Chris Sale would have, but we have to wonder how quality Giolito’s innings will be, when his ERA has hovered around 5.00 in each of the last two seasons.

If the Red Sox are unwilling to splurge on pitchers like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, the trade market is something they should strongly consider. If this Red Sox team acquires Cease, a legitimate ace, they can at the very least be in the race for an AL Wild Card spot.

Boston happens to have a slew of prospects they can trade. They’ve shown no willingness to move guys like Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel (and for good reason), but the Red Sox do have four prospects on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list, as well as other young players like Jarren Duran who the White Sox could be interested in.

1) The Orioles can put together the best rotation in the American League by trading for Dylan Cease

The best fit for Dylan Cease was the Baltimore Orioles before they got Corbin Burnes, and the Orioles remain the best Cease fit even after getting Burnes. The reasoning behind that has a lot to do with the underwhelming prospect package that went back to Milwaukee in the Burnes deal.

The Orioles had the best farm system in the majors before the Burnes trade, and it can be argued that they still do even after losing Joey Ortiz and D.L. Hall in the deal. Baltimore has prospects like Samuel Basallo, Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo, and Heston Kjerstad who the White Sox would covet. Jackson Holliday would be another one, but he’s obviously not available.

With a new ownership group in Baltimore, it’s clear that they’re going to be more aggressive trying to win right now with the outstanding young core that they have. It’s certainly less likely that they trade for Cease now after getting Burnes, but if they really want to put themselves in the drivers seat to win a World Series, they should try and get Cease.

A rotation consisting of Burnes, Cease, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, and one of John Means and Dean Kremer would be the best in the AL if not the majors entirely. That, on top of a solid bullpen and a really strong lineup would make Baltimore pretty clear favorites in the American League.

This article was originally published on fansided.com as Dylan Cease rumors: Ranking 5 trade suitors as offseason slows to a crawl.