Dylan Cease

The New York Yankees would rather bolster their 2024 rotation with Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease than free agent Blake Snell, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

But adding Cease would mean agreeing to a trade, and negotiations with the White Sox are currently "at a standstill," Nightengale reported.

The White Sox want Yankees outfield prospect Spencer Jones in exchange for Cease, and New York wants to keep him, according to Nightengale.

The Yankees will not consider a short-term deal or a deal with opt-outs for Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, because of potential luxury tax problems, Nightengale added.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported in January that the Yankees had offered Snell a six-year, $150 million deal, but that Snell turned it down because he wanted "either a higher average annual value— a deal worth at least $30 million per year— or a longer contract."

The Yankees are already over the highest competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold of $297 million, so each dollar spent on Snell's contract would be taxed at 110 percent. Snell's preferred AAV would cost the team at least $63 million in 2024.

That's not to mention that because the San Diego Padres offered Snell a qualifying offer, the Yankees would lose second- and fifth-round 2025 picks alongside the signing.

Because of those additional costs, the team says "they will not consider a short-term deal or early opt-outs with Snell," according to Nightengale.

Cease's $8 million contract is a more affordable deal for the Yankees, but they could be competing with other bidders in order to finalize a trade with the White Sox. Nightengale reported earlier this month that the Baltimore Orioles have also made an offer for the right-hander.

According to Nightengale's earlier report, the White Sox are looking for a package similar to what the Milwaukee Brewers got from the Baltimore Orioles for Corbin Burnes.

In the Burnes trade, the Brewers received shortstop Joey Ortiz, the Orioles' No. 6 ranked prospect at the time; left-hander DL Hall, who will compete for a spot in the Milwaukee starting rotation; and the No. 34 pick of the 2024 draft.

If a comparable trade in New York must involve Jones, the Yankees might not be able to settle on a deal. The team's No. 2-ranked prospect is considered by the Yankees as "Jones as a long-term center fielder with Gold Glove upside," according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.

After spending the entire offseason hearing his name mentioned in trade rumors, Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease can expect more of the same during the season until he gets moved.

In a survey of current and former MLB executives, coaches and scouts by The Athletic's Jayson Stark, Cease was overwhelmingly voted as the most likely player to be traded.

Cease received 14 votes from the panel, nine more than any other player (Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames).

One of the biggest surprises from the offseason was that Cease didn't get traded. This seemed like a perfect time for the White Sox to cash in with the most valuable asset they have left to get a package that could help the franchise rebuild from the ground up.

While it's still possible a deal could happen now that spring training has started, one AL executive told Stark the White Sox will likely wait until closer to the trade deadline during the season when teams will "pay a ton" for a frontline starter.

Of course, the reason Cease is still with Chicago right now is due in part to the asking price general manager Chris Getz has put on him.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported in January that Getz wanted "multiple high-end prospects" and additional "fill-ins" for Cease.

In addition to the high asking price, one thing that may have impacted trade talks for Cease was the deep free-agent market for pitchers. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shōta Imanaga, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray and Eduardo Rodriguez were all available when the offseason started.

Reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are still unsigned. Cease will cost less than either of those pitchers in terms of money, but teams would also have to give up multiple young players to get him.

The White Sox can also afford to be selective right now. Cease is only making $8 million this year and is under team control through 2025. History has shown it's in their best interest to trade him at some point this season because his value only goes down the closer he gets to free agency.

For example, the Milwaukee Brewers traded former NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles on Feb. 2 as he enters his final year of team control.

Milwaukee did get one current (Joey Ortiz) and former (DL Hall) top-100 prospect, plus the No. 34 pick in the 2024 MLB draft, but the return was still considered light for a pitcher of Burnes' caliber.

Cease's ERA was inflated last season (4.58) primarily because the White Sox had the worst defense in MLB. He struck out 214 in 177 innings and has started at least 32 games in each of the past three seasons.

Since the start of the 2021 season, Cease's 667 strikeouts are the fourth-most in MLB.

After an offseason of trade rumors and speculation, Dylan Cease arrived at spring training this week still a member of the Chicago White Sox.

Speaking to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Cease admitted he has no idea what's going to happen as he continues to prepare for the start of the regular season.

"I just don't know where I'll end up," he said. "I'll have fans come up to me after reading an article. Fans see the speculation and everyone gets excited about this and that. I think it's good for the game for sure. But for the most part, I try not to over-focus on it. Just prepare like normal."

It does seem likely that Cease will at least begin this season anchoring the White Sox rotation.

General manager Chris Getz told reporters on Monday he expects that Cease will start for the team on Opening Day.

One potential sticking point for teams interested in acquiring Cease could be the asking price from Chicago.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported on Jan. 10 that the White Sox were telling teams that called they wanted "multiple" top prospects in any deal for the 28-year-old pitcher.

Cease and Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers were the two most accomplished pitchers mentioned in trade rumors throughout the offseason. The Brewers eventually traded Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles for Joey Ortiz, DL Hall and the No. 34 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft.

Ortiz is a top-100 prospect coming into this season. Hall exhausted his prospect eligibility last year, but he was a top-100 prospect before that.

Neither player was considered a superstar prospect. They were both in the back half of the top 100 rankings, but that's still good value for the Brewers considering Burnes is entering his final season of team control before hitting free agency next offseason.

The White Sox are presumably seeking higher-end prospects for Cease because of his contract status. He has two years of team control remaining and is only making $8 million this season.

Cease's 4.58 ERA last season doesn't look appealing on the surface, but much of that can be attributed to the White Sox having the worst defense in MLB than an obvious decline in his skill set.

The right-hander struck out more than 200 hitters for the third consecutive season and had the second-lowest home-run rate of his career (1.0 per nine innings).

If Getz wants to rebuild the White Sox mid-tier farm system in a hurry, Cease is the best card he has to play on the trade market. His patience isn't surprising, even if does leave Cease hanging in the wind waiting for a resolution to the situation one way or another.

Dylan Cease has been included in numerous trade rumors this winter, but he reported to training camp with the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in preparation for his sixth season on the South Side.

While speaking with reporters at training camp, Cease, who will become a free agent in 2026, said he hasn't had extension talks with the White Sox but would love to remain in Chicago beyond his current deal.

"A lot of that's out of my control," Cease told reporters when asked about his future. "At the end of the day, wherever I have to go, I do just want to perform. It would be great to be here. I have a lot of great relationships here. The city of Chicago is awesome."

Cease has been heavily included in trade rumors this offseason as the White Sox approach a likely rebuild following a 61-101 finish to the 2023 campaign. General manager Chris Getz told reporters in November that the team would consider moving any player ahead of the 2024 season.

"I've made it very clear that the White Sox are willing to listen in on any of our players," Getz said at the time.

ESPN's Jeff Passan then reported on Jan. 3 that the White Sox were "still likely" to move Cease this offseason, but Getz cast some doubt on that report on Jan. 9, telling reporters that Chicago would need to benefit from a deal in order to offload the veteran.

Getz said:

We've had conversations about Dylan Cease but I also know that we're not going to move a player like Dylan or anyone else unless we feel like we're going to benefit. So it's got to be right for all parties. A lot of these conversations are on-going, there's a lot that goes into any sort of trade transaction, there's a lot of conversations, build up, research and obviously getting it to the finish line." 

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported earlier this winter that the White Sox are seeking "two premium prospects and two others" in exchange for Cease. It's unclear if they had any offers close to that.

Cease enters 2024 as Chicago's top pitcher, headlining a rotation that is expected to include Michael Kopech, Touki Toussaint, Michael Soroka and Chris Flexen.

Despite the team's struggles in 2023, he still posted a 7-9 record with a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 214 strikeouts in 177 innings across 33 starts. Those numbers are down by his standards, however, as he went 14-8 in 2022 with a 2.20 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 227 strikeouts in 184 innings across 32 starts.

If the White Sox are struggling as bad as expected during the 2024 season, perhaps the franchise will explore moving Cease on a more serious level. For now, it looks like he'll be remaining on the South Side to begin the year.