Among the starting pitchers that may get traded this off-season, Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease nears the top of the list.
Cease has two years of team control remaining and teams have already expressed an interest in trading for the 2022 American League Cy Young runner-up.
The decision of whether or not to move Cease should be an easy decision for the White Sox. The fact in the discussion is that the White Sox are not going to sign Cease to a long-term extension. Through team owner Jerry Reinsdorf, the White Sox have never handed out a $100MM contract to any player and it won’t start with Cease. The other semi-fact in the discussion is that the White Sox likely won’t be a in position to contend throughout the next two seasons.
For those reasons alone, the White Sox have no option but to trade Cease this off-season as his value will never be higher.
It would seem that the White Sox are aware of that and are currently in trade discussions with the Los Angeles Dodgers regarding a trade involving Cease.
"The Los Angeles Dodgers are in trade talks with the Chicago White Sox in an attempt to acquire ace Dylan Cease. The Dodgers badly need pitching help, and the White Sox badly need to rebuild their roster.“I’ve made it very clear that the White Sox are willing to listen in on any of our players,” White Sox GM Chris Getz said.-Bob Nightengale via USA Today"
The Dodgers have a clear need for pitching and even if they are successful in their pursuit of Shohei Ohtani this winter, Ohtani is not expected to pitch during the 2024 season. Given the size of Ohtani’s next contract, there would be value in the Dodgers acquiring a starting pitcher such as Cease.
There should be no half-measures for general manager Chris Getz this off-season. Half measure is part of the reason why the White Sox’s previous rebuild failed miserably. There needs to be a trade of Cease this off-season, otherwise, the off-season can not be viewed as a success.