Dylan Cease

Dylan Cease has been included in numerous trade rumors this winter, but the Chicago White Sox likely won't be moving on from the veteran pitcher unless they're presented with an intriguing offer.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz told reporters Tuesday during a teleconference:

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." 

Getz's comments come after he told reporters in November that the White Sox were open to offers on any player this offseason.

"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.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Sunday that the White Sox were seeking "two premium prospects and two others" in a Cease deal. Meanwhile, ESPN's Jeff Pasan reported earlier this month that Chicago is "still likely" to trade the right-hander this winter

The White Sox are slated to enter a rebuild after finishing the 2023 campaign with a 61-101 record—missing the playoffs for the second straight season—and Cease is one of the club's most valuable assets.

The 28-year-old, who has two more years of arbitration eligibility before becoming a free agent in 2026, figures to draw a package that could accelerate a rebuild.

During the 2023 season, Cease went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 214 strikeouts in 177 innings across 33 starts. However, those numbers are down by his standards.

The veteran's best season in the Windy City came in 2022 when he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 227 strikeouts in 184 innings across 32 starts.

Cease would be a great addition to any World Series contender, and the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers have been mentioned as potential landing spots.

However, it's unclear if any of those franchises would be willing to meet a high asking price to acquire the veteran.

With the likes of Blake Snell, Marcus Stroman and Jordan Montgomery still available in free agency, it could be a while before Cease generates more interest anyway.

The New York Mets reportedly remain engaged in the starting pitching market this offseason, both in terms of potential trades and free-agent signings.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets are continuing to check in on Chicago White Sox hurler Dylan Cease, plus they are monitoring free agents Hyun-Jin Ryu, Sean Manaea and Shōta Imanaga.

The Mets reportedly met with free-agent starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto previously, but he signed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, leaving the Mets and several other pitching-needy teams to explore backup options.

Per Sherman, the Mets and New York Yankees are both in the running for Cease, as are the Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles, the latter of whom is considered the favorite to land him.

The 28-year-old Cease enjoyed a breakout season in 2022 after establishing himself as a solid starter over the previous two seasons.

Cease finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2022 by virtue of a 14-8 record, 2.20 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 227 strikeouts over 184 innings pitched.

While Cease was expected to be a superstar from that point forward, he fell off in 2023, going 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 214 strikeouts in 177 innings.

Control has been the biggest issue for Cease, as he has twice led the AL in walks, including his excellent 2022 season when he issued 78 bases on balls. Cease had 79 walks last season, which were the second-most in the AL.

A change of scenery could potentially work wonders for Cease, who is under team control for two more seasons before being eligible to hit free agency.

The biggest sticking point with a Cease trade is likely the asking price as the White Sox want three premium prospects, per Sherman.

If the Mets are unwilling to pay that price, searching for value in free agency may be their best option.

Ryu, 36, was ravaged by injuries over the past two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, as he was limited to six starts in 2022 and 11 starts last season.

The lefty was solid last season when healthy, though, going 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA for a team that went to the playoffs.

Ryu is best known for his magical 2019 season with the Dodgers when he went 14-5, won the National League ERA title at 2.32 and finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting.

He also finished third in the AL Cy Young Award voting in his first season with the Jays in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Like Ryu, the 31-year-old Manaea would be something of a reclamation project, as he struggled at times over the past two seasons with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

Manaea posted a sub-4.00 ERA in four of his six seasons with the Oakland Athletics, including going 11-11 with a 3.91 ERA and striking out a career-high 194 over 179.1 innings in 2021.

Oakland traded Manaea to San Diego, and he was a major disappointment in 2022, going 8-9 with a career-worst 4.96 ERA.

He was slightly better with the Giants last season, going 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA, but he was often deployed as a piggyback to an opener rather than a traditional starter, coming out of the bullpen in 27 of his 37 appearances.

Imanaga is a 30-year-old southpaw who was overshadowed in free agency initially by Yamamoto, who also made the leap from Japan to Major League Baseball.

Playing for the Yokohama Bay Stars of Nippon Professional Baseball, Imanaga has a career record of 64-50 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, while striking out 1,021 batters over 1,002.2 innings.

The two-time NPB All-Star is looking for a contract in the neighborhood of $100 million, according to Imanaga, and he must finalize a deal before his posting period ends Thursday.

While the Mets have clear and obvious pitching needs after trading aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer before the deadline last season, they aren't likely to invest big, long-term money in a pitcher unless they feel they can help years down the road, especially since the Mets may not line up to be contenders in 2024.

After coming up short in their pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the New York Yankees have entered the trade sweepstakes for Dylan Cease.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees have expressed "sincere" interest in the Chicago White Sox right-hander.

There is plenty of competition for Cease right now, with Rosenthal citing the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals among teams in the mix.

Rosenthal noted a Cease trade seems "virtually certain" to happen, as the White Sox are looking to add talent to a farm system that is light on impact prospects right now.

The Yankees have previously been linked to the top remaining free-agent starting pitchers, including Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.

Montgomery was originally drafted by the Yankees in the fourth round in 2014. He made his MLB debut with the team in 2017 and spent six seasons in New York before being traded to the Cardinals in August 2022.

The Cardinals traded Montgomery to the Texas Rangers last July. Randy Miller of NJ.com reported on Thursday the 31-year-old "loves" Texas and there's a belief within the Yankees organization he will stay with the Rangers.

Even though Snell is the reigning NL Cy Young winner, there's an argument that Cease would be the best pitcher still available, either via trade or free agency, for any team to acquire.

Cease is coming off a rough 2023 when he posted a 4.58 ERA, but some of that can be explained away by the White Sox having the worst defense in MLB. He still finished with 214 strikeouts in 177 innings. It was his third consecutive season with at least 200 strikeouts.

It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Yankees want to be in trade offers for Cease. They gave up seven players to acquire Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres, though none of the players were viewed as elite-level prospects.

Cease has two years of team control remaining before he can become a free agent, so it will presumably take a significant offer for the White Sox to move him. They are also in a great position to cash in by pitting three AL East teams against each other, plus a Dodgers team loaded with young talent and a Cardinals squad that can use one more impact starter after signing Sonny Gray in free agency.

Teams in need of some starting pitching this winter could potentially turn to Chicago White Sox star Dylan Cease.

Cease has been included in a number of trade rumors since the end of the 2023 campaign and the White Sox are "still likely" to move him this offseason, according to ESPN's Jeff Pasan.

After finishing the 2023 campaign with a 61-101 record and missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, the White Sox cleaned house, firing executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn ahead of a major rebuild.

Moving Cease, one of the club's best pitchers, has been expected as the return in a package for the veteran could accelerate the rebuild. However, it's not just Cease that's on the chopping block.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz told reporters in November that the team was open and willing to listen to offers for any player.

"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.

Cease has two more years of arbitration eligibility before hitting the open market in 2026. His estimated salary for the 2024 season is $8.3 million, according to Spotrac.

The 28-year-old had a down year by his standards last season, though he was still an effective starter. He went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 214 strikeouts in 177 innings across 33 starts.

Cease's best season in Chicago came in 2022 when he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 227 strikeouts in 184 innings across 32 starts.

The Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers have been mentioned as potential destinations for Cease.

However, the Braves might be ruled out of the sweepstakes after acquiring Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox. The Reds might also be ruled out after president of baseball operations Nick Krall told reporters this week that he doesn't see "any major moves" on the way entering spring training.

The Chicago White Sox held back on trading ace Dylan Cease early this offseason, waiting for the Yoshinobu Yamamoto domino to fall and expecting teams who missed out on the 25-year-old phenom would come calling.

Those teams have and, according to Jason Williams of the Cincinnati Inquirer, we know just how much the White Sox are asking for their star righty.

"I know the White Sox were asking the Reds a crazy price for Dylan Cease. Chicago wanted Edwin Arroyo, Rhett Lowder, Connor Phillips and at least one more prospect."

Arroyo, Lowder, and Phillips are all top 100 prospects. That is a huge ask of any organization, let alone one that is committed to youth and the future, such as the Reds. Ditto the Orioles, who Jon Morosi of MLB Network previously linked to the White Sox.

While the asking price may be too high on the surface, one must look no further than the team with the asset to understand why.

The White Sox have one of the worst farm systems in baseball and just one prospect in the top 50 in shortstop Colson Montgomery.

On the field, their former MVP candidate Tim Anderson has been so underwhelming of late that the team allowed him to test free agency, and the team has only player that can really be deemed off-limits to any potential suitor: Luis Robert.

The team is about to be in full rebuild mode and will need players who can contribute in the near future.

The best way for them to obtain those players is by trading Cease, who is one season removed from a Cy Young runner-up campaign that saw him go 14-8 with an ERA of 2.20, 227 strike outs, and a WHIP of 1.109.

He had a down year in 2023 (4.58, 214, and 1.418), but he also played for one of the worst teams in the sport.

He did not suddenly forget how to pitch, and the stuff is still there. A change of scenery would likely be of significant benefit for him, not to mention the White Sox organization, which would reap the rewards of several quality prospects filtering into its system.

Robert has been great but the best years of his career will be wasted if the team does not take the necessary steps to surround him with talent that can win over the next five to 10 years.

Whether it achieves that this offseason, or holds onto Cease and hopes he rekindles some of what made him one of the best pitchers in the American League two seasons ago before dealing him at the trade deadline, is the question.

Either way, the White Sox are right to aim high in what they can acquire for their star right-hander. Aces do not walk through the door every day, hence the competition for the aforementioned Yamamoto this offseason. There will be a team desperate for pitching who may not give up three top 100 prospects, but might be willing to part with two, a couple of others, or some cash.

That is where the White Sox will ultimately benefit and at least have something to show a tired, weathered fan base that they are trying to win and to do so by following in the footsteps of the Orioles and Reds by focusing on the future.