2 ways the Los Angeles Dodgers potentially trading for Tyler Glasnow impacts the Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox might lose a suitor for their ace, Dylan Cease.

The Sox are entertaining trade offers for their best pitcher. The Los Angeles Dodgers have long been rumored to be interested in acquiring Cease.

Now it looks like they have pivoted towards trading for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow.

How does Glasnow compare to Cease?

Glasnow is 30 with one year left on his deal. Glasnow is set to make $25 million in 2024. His stuff is great, but he is always hurt.

His numbers are good when he is on the mound. Glasnow has a career 3.89 ERA, 3.58 FIP and 1.21 WHIP. He finished as a 3.2 fWAR player in 2023.

Cease will be 28 next season with two years left of club control. He had a down year in 2023 after nearly winning the AL Cy Young in 2022. Cease had a 4.58 this past season, but he posted a 3.72 FIP and finished as a 3.7 fWAR player. He has made 30 or more starts the past three seasons. Cease has a career 3.83 ERA, 3.86 FIP, and a 1.31 WHIP.

You would think the pitching desperate Dodgers would want Cease because he is younger, cheaper, and is guaranteed to be with the team for two more seasons.

The reason why the Dodgers might be motivated to go with a one-year rental in Glasnow is the Chicago White Sox have a very high asking price for Cease.

The Sox were reported to be asking for four top prospects from the Cincinnati Reds.

It makes sense to have a high asking price. The White Sox rotation becomes the worst in baseball if they trade Cease. Plus, he is their most valuable trade asset outside of Luis Robert Jr.

The Dodgers have the money to take on Glasnow’s salary and it looks like he will only cost two players. That is why it is an easy choice. They can let Glasnow walk after the 2024 season since the recently added Shohei Ohtani will be able to pitch in 2025.

Did we mention the Dodgers have the money? That means they can also extend Glasnow with batting an eye.

This impacts the Chicago White Sox for two reasons…

As mentioned earlier, it takes away a potential team the Sox can trade with.

The Dodgers are the best trade partner compared to other interested teams like the Atlanta Braves and the Reds. Only the Baltimore Orioles, the other team rumored to be interested in Cease, have more attractive prospects.

The Sox need to get young starting pitching back in a trade for Cease. It would be nice if those pitching prospects are at or near the major-league level. The Dodgers have plenty of that compared to the Braves, Reds, and Orioles.

Five of their top 10 prospects are pitchers and four of them are knocking on the major-league door.

That is not to say the Dodgers might not still be interested in trading for Cease. They just gave Ohtani a massive contract and they need pitching to win a World Series.

This potential deal takes away a potential attractive trade piece the White Sox might want back.

Ryan Pepiot flashed a ton of potential in his eight major-league appearances. He is exactly the type of young arm the Sox covet.

The Dodgers can still offer Nick Frasso, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, or Landon Knack in potential deal for Cease, but Pepiot might be the most talented of the bunch.

There is nothing wrong if the Dodgers pivot away from a Cease deal. It just would have been nice to have them help drive up the return the Sox could get.