Nov. 30: The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggests a very different scenario regarding Cease, writing that Getz & Co. prefer to wait to move him until after the top starters on the market have signed. Clubs with current interest (e.g. Cincinnati, Baltimore), aren’t likely to play for the top names in free agency anyhow and will thus remain in play even if the Sox take their time trading Cease. And, by waiting until the top of the free agent market thins out, the Sox could potentially attract more bidders in the form of those who miss out on the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, etc.
Nov. 29: The White Sox have discussed Dylan Cease trades with teams since the offseason got underway. It seems they’ve gained some amount of traction, as Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that talks have “intensified” this week. Morosi suggests the ChiSox may pull the trigger on a deal prior to the Winter Meetings, which begin Sunday evening.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale has linked the Dodgers and Braves to the hard-throwing righty in recent weeks. There are surely plenty of other teams that have been in touch with first-year general manager Chris Getz. Morosi calls the Braves one of the “finalists” for Cease’s services. That implies the Sox have narrowed down the field of suitors, although there’s no clarity as to how many clubs are still in the running.
Cease has been a popular trade target going back to the deadline. The Sox elected not to move him over the summer. A few weeks after the deadline, owner Jerry Reinsdorf dismissed front office leaders Rick Hahn and Ken Williams. He bumped Getz from assistant GM to the top role not long thereafter. Getz has rather bluntly discussed the lack of depth on the MLB roster. He has made clear there aren’t any players who are categorically off the table in trade discussions.
While Luis Robert Jr. probably has the most appeal of anyone on the team, Cease is the more likely of their high-value targets to change uniforms. The Sox have their franchise center fielder signed to a contract with club options running through the 2027 season. Cease is under team control for two years. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for an $8.8MM salary in his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility.
Cease, who turns 28 next month, is coming off a relative down season. His ERA jumped from 2.20 during his Cy Young runner-up campaign in 2022 to 4.58 this year. Cease lost a couple points off his strikeout rate but still fanned a quality 27.3% of opposing hitters while taking the ball for a full slate of 33 starts.
Despite the relative down season, he remains the clear best pitcher on the roster. While Getz has expressed a willingness to make significant changes, he hasn’t characterized the situation as a rebuild. It stands to reason they’d look for major league and/or upper minors talent in a Cease trade. They took a volume approach to their first major trade of the offseason, acquiring five players (four of whom are MLB-ready depth types) from the Braves for reliever Aaron Bummer two weeks ago.
Trade Outman for Cease.
Seems like some young, near-ready SP would go back especially with the Dodgers trading from a position of strength there. Frasso could be one.
NO
YES. It’s happening so let it happen.
Luis Robert, Cease for Bo Bichette, Manoah, Martinez, and another prospect? Tiedemann/Barger for Cease? Martinez/Tiedemann for Robert?
I want to believe we line up well for a trade. What do Chisox need the most out of this “lack of depth”. Just getting a pulse, be nice meow.
Manoah doesn’t have the trade value that Jays fans seem to think, and your offer for Robert is nowhere near enough. The one for Cease might be close (Tiedemann and Barger), but probably need a lottery ticket in there.
I agree about his deflated value, but Martinez and Bichette should land a player like Robert. Would love to hear your side.
Side note: I was at the Blue Jays game where Frank hit 3 HRs (as I shudder at the thought of our old jerseys). BIG FAN.
Ha! Yes, love big Frank, great hitter and good ambassador during a time of peds. Anyway, u didnt say bichette and martinez, u said tiedemann and martinez for Robert. I think bichette and tiedemann would be fair maybe? But it feels like the Sox would need an unfair raking to actually trade robert.
Not to be frank… But I started my sentence with “Luis Robert, Cease for Bo Bichette, Manoah, Martinez, and another prospect?” Again just spitballing, but thought I would clarify any confusion.
Yeah – I saw that, but if you take Robert, Bichette and Martinez out of the detail, then that just leaves Manoah for Cease, so I guess I didn’t think any of it was enough. Fun to speculate, but who knows. Ultimately, I think the Sox will separate the two if they were to do a trade, but again, no real clue! 🙂
Braves need to just go all in
1. Grissom, Schellenbach & AS-S for Cease
2. Ritchie, Kuehler & Anderson for Arozarena
Off-season done
The White Sox and Rays reject your trade offers. Now what?
White Sox wouldn’t reject that. It’s honestly too much for Cease
Love how people say things like “reject your trade offer” without a word more.
Why would WS reject that trade offer? It would be exactly what theyre looking for. 3 young controllable players, 1 ranked 53rd overall. Value is there. Seems like a legit offer.
I think WS accept that braves offer
Cease has to go to Atlanta, for no other reason than the the matching snot mops with Strider.
Mikolas has a pretty good stache too.
Good catch, forgot abt him
the strongest offer I can imagine the Braves making would be Waldrep/AJSS + Grissom + Murphy/Ritchie. That’s one consensus Top 100 prospect, one guy who was sneaking up into that range before he exhausted prospect status, and an interesting lower-minors arm.
The Dodgers and Orioles can certainly put together richer packages than that. I don’t know how indisputably massive Cease’s value is, though, given the 1mph drop in velo this year and the homer and walk problems. 2023 Cease was a … fine, valuable pitcher, but nothing to write home about.
And then what do the Braves do next year when Morton retires and Fried gets bought by one of the LA teams or one of the NY teams. Where they gonna dig up 2 new starters and with what?
If you acquire Cease, you do so under the assumption that he takes Fried’s spot in the rotation in 2025. You hope whichever of Waldrep/AJSS you’ve retained is capable of holding down a spot in the rotation and you use some of the $55M freed up by Morton, Fried and Ozuna to sign a mid-rotation veteran. You get a rotation something like:
Strider
Cease
(mid-rotation vet)
AJSS/Waldrep
Elder/(maybe Ritchie/Murphy)/Anderson
Fried (finally) and Morton occupy payroll in a way that’s not that different from their market value. When they leave payroll, there will be financial room to at least replace one of them and you’ll still have Cease cost-controlled for the year.
So you’re telling me that Fried’s replacement market value is $14.5? Are you trolling or just not smart?
Oof, thought he was making closer to $25M in arb. No need to name call though!
In order for the Braves to get Cease they’ll likely have to go above and beyond in order to outbid the Dodgers and their solid farm system.
The ONLY way they’ll be able to do that is by including Vaughn Grissom, Bryce Elder or Aj Smith-Shawver, and likely Hurston Waldrep or Spencer Schwellenbach.
I’m ultimately hoping their deal with look more like Grissom, Waldrep, Dodd, and then Murphy.
Honestly, I highly doubt either of the Braves young trio of pitchers would be ready by the beginning of the ’25 season
Murphy is likely the one that could be ready by then, but there’s no reason to push Owen Murphy before he’s truly ready.
These are all former HS pitchers, and Ritchie and Phillips have both dealt with injuries in the last two years.
With that being said, I think it may be Schwellenbach that’s actually the one who could have a meteoric rise similar to AJ Smith-Shawver. He’s raw, since he was a two-way guy in college, and he just recently dedicated his full efforts to solely pitching.
After suffering an injury, cutting short his ’22 post-draft debut Svhwellenbach required Tommy John surgery. Last season he was able to show he’s now fully healthy and ready to start showing off that arm.
After having a full off-season, I fully expect him to take off this year. I think he will ultimately land on some top 100 lists towards either the middle of this season or certainly at least after the end of the season.
The Braves other pitching prodigy named Spencer has a solid three pitch mix: fastball, slider, change-up. Each of his pitches are rated as being above average led by his fastball and his slider. His change-up isn’t a slouch either as he’s able to get good sink on it, and often uses it well off his other pitches to either get guys to chase low and out of the zone or induce weak contact. His fastball is flat out EXPLOSIVE, and he can run it up to 100mph when he’s firing on all cylinders. It isn’t just his lack of pitching experience why some scouts compared him to Jacob DeGrom, it is because this young man has the natural stuff and arm talent to match some of the very best.
Smith-Shawver, Waldrep, Schwellenbach, Luis De Avila, Kuehler, Murphy, Ritchie, Phillips, Hackenburg, Maier, Lara, Braun, Baumann, Keller, Owens, etc. the Braves A and AA rosters are FULL of pitching talent that is well prepared to take off next season.
With that being said, there is another 23-24 year old that most Braves’ fans don’t include in these lists, and he’s likely one of their most ML ready pitchers that they’ve recently drafted in the last couple drafts….
At some point next season, Blake Burkhalter will be making his full season debut. Burkhalter had a very solid showing when he had his post-draft debut in Low A Augusta, even thoughit was ultimately cut short. While Burkhalter was a successful college closer and relief pitcher, I’ve heard the Braves actually plan to use him as a starting pitcher. Although, now, due to his surgery, I’m not entirely sure whether that is still.the plan or not for Burkhalter.
If they do plan on still stretching him out, he will likely start out the season only making short appearances, and they will probably limit him to roughly 50 pitches. Either way, he’s definitely going to be an intriguing arm to watch moving forward.
Honestly, Burkhalter would be very close to being ML ready, if they moved him through the system as a relief pitcher, but I can understand why they’re trying to try him as a starting pitcher first. Simply put, starters just have WAY more value than relief prospects, even if they do have to spend an extra two to three seasons having to stretch themselves out and learning to attack, set-up hitters, and mix their pitches more effectively.
Blake Burkhalter had Tommy John Surgery during the first week of March last year, and that can come with a recovery timeline of up to 18 months, so it’s very possible we won’t see BB until the middle to latter part of the season. The Braves will unquestionably be very careful with Burkhalter as he could potentially be their closer of the future or at least used in the same vein as a RH version of AJ Minter.
Burkhalter has a three pitch mix, mainly featuring an excellent cutter. His cutter is still fairly new to him as Auburn’s pitching coach and former Atlanta Braves stud, Tim Hudson taught him that cutter before he broke out as their closer during his final year as a Tiger.
His cutter is already a plus ML pitch, and it is very deceptive working off his fastball with freat movement. He usually sits around 92-93 with it out of the pen. His fastball can reach up to 98 mph, but it usually sat around 94-95 with good ark side run. He likes to use his FB up in the zone, but it can get him in trouble at times if he isn’t locating it. There were times he struggled getting taken deep in college, and it was typically due to him missing his spot low right at the belt with his fastball.
His third pitch is a solid change-up that he locates pretty well, and he’s able to use it in order to induce weak contact when he’s locating it properly. He has above average control, but it night take him a little time to regain his feel for especially his change-up when he returns.
I cannot wait to see some of these young studs hit the ground running this upcoming season, and when they ultimately blossom it’ll go a long way towards changing how analysts and fans view the Braves level of talent they currently have in their minor leagues!!
If anyone is still reading this, I hope you were able to learn something new, or you’re just as excited as I am about their countless young pitching prospects and watching and seeing how they are able to develop and climb the ladder!
Richardc
@richardc: As an avid, long time Braves fan I enjoyed your novella, lol. I closely follow the minors too. Nice to see someone else who’s aware of Burkhalter’s existence and the young, high upside volume of pitching in the system. Btw—-Schwellenbach coming late to pitching in college isn’t the only reason he gets compared to DeGrom. They were also both shortstops.
Considering the approach in his first trade, I’m interested to see Getz return here.
Depth is great but winning also requires premium talent.
If he got 5 for Bummer, he should get at least 30 for Dylan
Haha that’s definitely how it works
I doubt it dumpster getz, cause the Braves don’t have that many players they’re thinking of just, outright releasing.
The Dodgers make sense for a trade for a starting pitcher and perhaps even 2 but i like them for Glasnow more than Cease. I think Cease is a good fit for the Braves but their system is getting thin. Could the Reds make sense? The Diamondbacks? I think a contender on a budget with rotation needs and a good farm system is the best fit for Cease.
I would be happy to see the reds make a move like this and I think they have the depth to do it
Marte and Phillips?
Joel P, I was on the band wagon for Cease since the season ended including trying to get Robert Jr. Now however I’m not so hot on that. I’m concerned about Buehler’s arm, 2 TJ surgeries, Dustin May, 2 TJ surgeries, Tony Gonsolin, TJ surgery, Clayton Kershaw shoulder surgery & Julio Urias gone. The priority should be on signing free agents Yamamoto & Snell for S.P. and Teoscar Hernández for left field and Ohtani as DH. I think the Dodgers need to keep as many of their young pitchers that they can. I think they’re gonna need them! They could still trade for another starting pitcher, a 4 or 5 slot or try to pry Arenado from the Cardinals. That would probably cost a young pitcher or two.
My ideal lineup;
Betts 2B
Freeman 1B
Arenado 3B
Ohtani DH
Smith C
T. Hernandez LF
Outman CF
Lux SS
Heyward; Deluca and/or Pages RF
And, D. Rushing & R. Pepiot are still untradable IMO.
Yeah, like the Cards are going to move Arrenado for two young unnamed pitchers!
Baltimore would definitely make sense here. They need another rotation arm and have the most top 100 prospects in the league.
My cousin knows this guy that says the Phillies are going to get him.
Ask your cousin if the guy he knows has a friend named Eddie. I know someone named Eddie, and he says he knows a guy who says Cease is going to the Phillies. I’m thinking it’s the guy your cousin knows! Unless… maybe Eddie IS the guy your cousin knows, and Eddie is just messing with me. In any case I’m nearly 100 percent sure now that Cease is going to Philly, b/c Eddie knows everything, including who built the pyramids.
Only Incarcerated Bob knows.
How about Cease for Matt McLain 1 for 1?
Nice idea, but I think it will take a little more from Cincy. Not a lot more though.
McLain is pretty darn good and has 6 years of control left.
Marte and Phillips. I think that could make a little more sense. Sox need young pitching and with Cease in the fold the Reds can afford to lose Phillips.
I agree that he is great. Personally I think the Reds would be better off moving Elly or Marte instead. That being said, Cease is still a TOR guy. But when I said not much more, I meant like maybe a #21-30 prospect and maybe a low level lotto guy, not anyone substantial though.
McLain has more trade value than Cease at this point, he’s a borderline All-Star level second baseman with 6 years of control vs. Cease who has 2 years left.
If you believe McLain can continue to play at the pace he played in 2023 then yeah you don’t trade him. I don’t think hes actually that good.
Again Marte and Phillips could work too. There is a deal to be made here.
If you are getting the 2022 version of Cease in 2024 and 2025 he is worth McLain…
If you are getting any other two previous seasons of Cease, I’d rather just keep McLain…
If you’re getting 2022 Cease, no way the Reds get him for only McLain.
How about no McClain is better.
No way the Reds do that. Young controllable all star shortstop. He’s not going anywhere for a few years.
If I’m the Sox I’m talking to Baltimore big time about this. Mayo, Ortiz, Norby, and Bradfield. You’re not getting Holliday or Kjerstad. But if you can get three of the other top guys plus a lottery ticket….hard to pass up
Norby, Povich and Westburg? Looking at trade simulator they say it’s fair and I agree that seems about right.
Baltimore is definitely a good fit for a Cease trade.
I don’t think the O’s want to part with 2 prospects at 2nd Base. They would probably add Ortiz and keep Westburg in your trade scenario.
Westburg is better that doesn’t work. And can’t Ortiz play 2b anyways???
Ortiz is more of a shortstop and less of a second baseman. They can throw in another prospect at a lower level along with Ortiz. Westburg is too valuable and a monster at the plane in my opinion.
Westbury is the centerpiece of the offer. You can’t just trade the junk and expect to get a quality player back.
It shouldn’t be long before White Sox fans find out once and for all if GM Chris Getz is retooling, as he has continually suggested, or is presiding over another rebuild. This 68-year old fan prefers the quick reset option. 🙂 ⚾️
The white Sox trading all their good players is a good indicator.
I think Cease gets traded during the upcoming winter meetings, if not before then. One dark horse team that would have prospects to trade to the White Sox would be the Cubs. Cubs need a starter, a power pitcher specifically, and Cease fits the mold. Plus he’s a known quantity, he came up in the Cubs system. Just my two cents.
Yeah that could make sense. The Cubs are going to get a top end starter and could use an everyday position player too. They could save some money by using prospects to get Cease and then get Bellinger or Chapman.
Dylan Cease makes sense for any contending clubs rotation, especially one like the Cubs whose starters don’t miss a whole lot of bats.
Eloy Jimenez, another player Getz is strongly rumored to be shopping is another potential fit for the Cubs. Cease and Jimenez each come with relatively cheap control, Cease with his two remaining years of affordable arbitration and Jimenez with the remaining 3 years of his pre-MLB debut extension, the last two of which have club options.
If the Cubs whiff on Shohei Ohtani and find the cost of acquiring Juan Soto too prohibitive they could pivot to another power bat to fill the middle of their batting order and DH hole. Jimenez could fit the bill, as would FA’s J.D. Martinez, former Cub Jorge Soler or even Justin Turner, the latter perhaps also being an option for a 3B/1B “timeshare”.
Having Cease and/or Jimenez returning to their original professional team on the northside would be quite the story in Chicago. The Cubs might also have a controllable piece to return to the southside as part of a package, 2B Nick Madrigal. Nicky ‘Two Strikes’ has 3 more years of affordable arbitration control and is blocked from playing his best position on the northside by Nico Hoerner. Madrigal could be a solid future double play partner for SS Colson Montgomery. He would also provide a much better bat than recently acquired Nicky Lopez offers. Another potential 2B fit with even more control and enormous potential is Christopher Morel.
The White Sox would undoubtedly require a young MLB ready starting pitcher back in any trade involving Cease. The Cubs have a potential candidates in Javier Assad along with a near ready prospect at AAA in Ben Brown. The Cubs greatest system depth is in the OF. Getz would surely be interested in two who are near MLB ready, lefty hitting Owen Caissie and righty hitter Kevin Alcántara.
There is no difference between a retool and a rebuild. Retool is just the softer way of saying it.
Dodgers
Andy Pages and/Or Outman, Landon Knack, and Thayron Liranzo for Cease
Cease is still ARB2
Braves
Owen Murphy, Ignacio Alvarez, and Drake Baldwin for Cease
think that Braves proposal is light (as a Braves fan). Can’t imagine the Braves being able to acquire Cease without having to deal one of AJSS/Waldrep.
@Datashark: As a Braves fan, I do that trade every day and twice on Sunday.
Arroyo, Williamson, and India for Cease
What? No way
Curtis Meade, Willy Vasquez, and Ian Seymour from the Rays for Cease.
The Mets aren’t a contender for Cease? I guess they are working on getting Burnes.
No they are signing the two Japanese starters.
I agree but if they don’t get both or one they have to look at Cease and Burnes.
Mets just Severino! Don’t be greedy LOL
Again, looks like Po Boy isn’t going to get a deal done as the Reds are no longer mentioned in reporting as even in the conversation.
I get a kick out of how Cease and Robert are always linked together. Like Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy. You want one? Then we must talk about the duo.
I don’t understand why the Orioles aren’t in on Cease with the talent in their system. I think they somewhat blew the trade deadline last year, they just aren’t aggressive enough. Windows open but they also close before you think they will. Granted, their system is deep so the window will be there.
I thought Cease was a good target for the Padres but if he gets close to what some of you all are saying then I’d pass.
Cease was great in 22’, the issues is the other years he has been more mid then anything else.
Here is his era by year..and era +
2019 5.79 era 79 era+
2020 4.01 era 110 era +
2021 3.91 era 110 era +
2022 2.20 era 180 era +
2023 4.58 era 97 era+
Career 3.87 era 113 era+
He is a good pitcher overall and pretty cheap next year. He does have value but these trade offers I see here are closer to ace level offers then a little better then mid level.
Nick Martinez who just signed for 13m for two years. The last two years has an era+ of 109 and 119. 26m which is about what Cease will get the next two years.
Now I’d rather have Cease because of the innings pitched and possible upside but Martinez today would have basically zero trade value because he just signed for as much as he could possible get.
You add that with Cease losing velo last year and he becomes a real risk when it comes to trading high end prospects for.
When I see people saying Cease is worth three top prospects. I think just go sign wacha or lugo and save the prospects because they will likely give you 80% of Cease or better.
I love how Padre fans still keep talking like they’re adding this off-season.
You think the padres aren’t adding pitching this season. You are literally going to sound like an idiot by the time the season starts.
You think the Padres are adding any payroll this off-season. There probably be a court order in probate court limiting their budget until the late owners will is finalized.
They are at 170m right now and they will be above that before the season starts. He put the team in a trust. There was no court fight as his trust instructions are set to major sure the padres stay in his family and they continue to build support the team.
Lol. They are at 230m with salary arbitration projections. They are going to shred payroll soon.
Well the simple answer is you aren’t looking at 2024 payroll. Maybe you are looking at luxury number but that’s not payroll.
The padres have shed some 80m in payroll this offseason already.
Padres 2024 payroll is right around 170m not including player benefits. Does include all arb guys estimated salaries.
Update your knowledge before speaking like you know anything. Otherwise you look like a fool.
The simple answer is you aren’t adding in salary arbitration numbers which they will have to pay.
Okay…you are just spouting nonsense. The numbers I posted included arb numbers.
Padres don’t have a payroll of 230m right now.
You can literally look it up in 15 seconds.
Good luck in all your additions. Just looked it up on spottrac.com. The current payroll is 176m without arb numbers added. It is projected at 230m with arbitration. Take your own advice and know what you’re reading before spouting your nonsense.
Wrong that number is with projected arb numbers. You are making yourself look more foolish by the second.
Tell me you know nothing about baseball while trying to act like you do.
Agreed, he’s had the one really good season and the rest of them are just so-so. Which pitcher are you going to get over the next two seasons? Probably somewhere close to his career numbers. Good, but not great. Middle of the rotation, not top. A team needing a 1-2 starter should be looking at someone with a better track record than Cease.
His pitching has declined some too not sure you trade top prospects for him
Fielding independent metrics are more bullish on him. And teams will dream of unlocking something closer to 2022 Cease, who’s was that good even with a high walk rate. Plus, he has made pretty much every start for several years now and is less for two years than Glasnow for one. He’s plenty valuable.
*who was that good. Can’t type today…
Dude just pitched his year 27 season. He has 3 full years only at the MLB level. And we all admit command deficient pitchers can be volatile (see Snell), but also can be electric.
It’s no more silly to suggest Cease is the low 2s era guy from 2022 than it is to suggest he’s a mid 4s from last year. The truth with this guy is somewhere in between and a good team with good coaching and good defense will see that he can provide immediate help to any rotation.
Cease WILL get multiple top prospects, a top 50, a top 100 and another piece or two. Either that or he will be opening day starter for the White Sox.
Cease should get at least a Luis Castillo haul. That feels like a good comp.
Defense doesn’t matter too much with Cease, given all the BB and K.
I hope a deal isn’t done before the winter meetings. Let a bidding war develop. Might even wait for Burnes and / or Glasnow to be traded so there’s more scarcity of quality trade options. Getz jumped the market for DeJong’s services; I hope he’s a bit more patient with his second-best trade chip.
Braves! Use Grissom as your trade piece and go from there, add a young high end pitcher
A longtime Sox fan here- I don’t want to trade Cease. Sox need someone to lead this staff and he is very reasonable price wise for the next few years. If they trade Robert- then for me and many other Sox fans it time to find another team. It amazes me how all these comments want Cease so bad -? That is except the White Sox-Why? Spend some money Jerry and build around these 2 guys instead of letting Getz make us a KC Royals team in Chicago.
I agree with you for the most part but it’s not how they operate. Cease will be pitching elsewhere next season so let’s all hope Getz finds the best possible return.
They really can’t build around, because there is almost nothing to build with. The farm system is dreadful, it has gotten a bit better adding prospects from last years TDL, but overall there is way too much missing for the Sox to compete and there is only so far free agents can be leveraged to make the White Sox a contender. They need to rebuild fully, the Bummer trade was great, get a bunch of guys most with excellent pedigree that maybe are out of favor and hope you catch them finding themselves, etc. Move Cease to add to that young base, possible a couple higher end guys.
Dylan Cease has just two years of arbitration control left. That said, I share your sentiment and prefer that the White Sox make a play for the AL Central title in 2024, a division that is still winnable with the Twinkies reportedly cutting payroll, Terry Francona gone in Cleveland and with the Tigers and Royals still trying to figure things out.
The White Sox still have a pretty strong core with some measure of team control remaining. There’s no reason that Getz can’t field a division contender in 2024 from among mid-tier FA’s and by trading off a piece or two that he doesn’t “like”, perhaps “like” DH Eloy Jimenez. Top prospect Colson Montgomery is not far off from his MLB debut, perhaps reaching Chicago by midseason or sooner.
Getz has already added some MLB depth with the Aaron Bummer trade. Another impactful deal or two, along with a few shrewd FA signings can put the White Sox back in the AL Central race. Once in the postseason, anything can happen as the Diamondbacks proved this past season.
Even a trade involving Cease doesn’t preclude the White Sox from contending in 2024 if it includes some MLB pieces ready to contribute.
Cease and desist!
Career numbers for what he controls suggests he’s pitching better than his numbers show.
kwERA: 3.28
GBkwERA: 3.32
Should be interesting what a team values him at. Definitely need to factor in the reality that he’s a rental for 1 year unless he signs an extension so the return might not be as good.
He actually has 2 years of service time control left. He isn’t eligible to be a free agent until after 2025.
@KingKen
His BR page says: 2023 Contract Status: Signed thru 2023, 1 yr/$5.7M (23) but FA status is 2026? That confused me…
He’s way too wild for my tastes. In the past 4 years, he has led the league in walks twice and wild pitches twice. If he doesn’t control that, then who does?
@hiflew
Those numbers I quote include his walks but again, he’s not some Jacob deGrom or Cole pitcher but also not bullpen fodder either.
Those numbers you quoted look like you had a stroke on your keyboard. Are those baseball stats or the newest acronym for LGBT people?
hiflew
For those of us who want to know more than just ERA…
tht.fangraphs.com/kwera-the-starting-point-for-pit…
That would not be me. I am not writing a PhD dissertation on Dylan Cease’s tendency to give up runs. All I need to know is what happens on the field.
Dunno if he’s better than he looks, but I do know he’s team controlled for two more seasons.
Waiting is a passive response that makes ZERO sense. If you actively move him before those other guys sign, you have more teams in the mix. For example, let’s say you have six main teams courting Yamamoto, Montgomery, and Snell. If you actively move Cease now, you would have six offers to choose from. If you wait until they sign, you’d only have three offers to choose from.
I get the idea of teams overpaying when they are desperate, but this is Dylan Cease we are talking about. The guy had a 4.58 ERA last season. So teams have to wonder which version of Cease will they be getting? The 2021-22 top of the rotation guy or the 2023 guy that looked like an average starter at best.
Get the best deal you can for him now and move on.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal’s suggestion of waiting to trade Dylan Cease has some merit for the White Sox front office. The flip side is that there may be other potential TOR’s available this offseason by way of trade including Corbin Burnes, Tyler Glasnow, Shane Bieber along with an excess Mariner SP like Logan Gilbert.
There are also a number of legitimate contenders who are unlikely to bid on the remaining top tier free agent SP’s. They include teams like the Braves and Cardinals who have done most of their heavy lifting this offseason. Other contenders like the Orioles, Indians, Astros, Marlins, Reds and Padres don’t figure to engage in bidding wars because of their m.o. or budget restraints.
I’m not expecting Chris Getz & Co. to jump at the first offers for Cease. But they also might not want to wait too long in considering trade packages. Afterall, the White Sox only have Cease as a sure thing for their 2024 rotation as we post. Michael Kopech is still a big ‘IF’ with newly acquired Mike Soroka currently penciled in at #3 on their depth chart. If the White Sox plan on contending in the weak AL Central this season they may also have interest in some of the second tier free agent SP’s this offseason including a possible reunion with Lucas Giolito or even signing his pal Jack Flaherty to potential pillow contracts.
There is also the possibility that he’ll walk off the mound in April with elbow discomfort…and that the Sox won’t be competitive again until 2035…Pitching is like that.
Do you mean 2025/2026?
Getz likes bulk returns and wants Top prospect returns if he is going to consider trading Luis Robert, Jr.
Here’s an out of left field blockbuster trade scenario. White Sox package Luis Robert, Jr., Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to the Dbacks for #1 prospect SS Jordan Lawler, #2 prospect OF Druw Jones, CF Alex Thomas, Top 30 Dbacks LHP Blake Walston, Top 30 RHP Slade Cecconi, Top 30 RHP Bryce Jarvis, and Top 30 OF prospect Dominic Fletcher.
Fills all of the Dbacks major off-season needs and vastly improves WS depth, unloads Jimenez’ salary, and gives them high upside, star talent prospects for a rebuilding team’s near future.
I wouldn’t want eloy and keep Thomas. I’m ok with everything else though. Maybe not Lawlar and send perdomo instead.
Dbacks trade Druw Jones, Walston, De Los Santos, Tommy Troy, McCarthy, Ryne Nelson, and Fletcher.
White Sox trade Cease and Robert.
Which team says no and why?
White Sox without thinking. You need stars to win. Aside from maybe Jones and Troy, who are far from sure things, you don’t have superstar potential in that package. Any deal for both of them has to start with Lawlar. Closer deal is Lawlar, Troy, Jones, and Nelson. But Sox won’t package them.
Yea I would trade Jones and Lawler for one year of cease lol.
I’d hesitate to trade Jones straight up for cease tbh
Cease has two years. And both our proposed deals were Cease and Robert.
You don’t need stars to win. You make stars WHEN you win.
I’ll grant you need more than one or two stars to win (otherwise the Angels would actually be good), but there’s only one team I can think of that’s won it all without real stars and that was the Royals. Every other champion has had star players who were stars before they won their rings. The Sox don’t need a bunch of 2-3 WAR players. That won’t get them anywhere better than .500. They need players who are capable of putting up 4-6.
The Royals had several stars. James Shields, Johnny Cueto, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain. Sure they might not be stars NOW, but they were definitely starts in 2014-15.
They wont package cease and robert in any deal because theyll get more when dealing them separately. If they trade both, might as well move eloy and vaughn too. Full rebuild at that point.
The return for robert alone would be very big.
Already a full rebuild.
They have failed miserably if they trade cease and keep Eloy. He still has some value. One more mediocre season and those options are under water.
I would like to see the Twins pick up Cease to pair alongside Pablo Lopez, would be a nice one-two punch at the top of our rotation as long as we don’t have to give up the farm to get him…
Just saw this on Reddit and it may be the most realistic 3-Way trade scenario I have seen.
●NYY: Juan Soto OF
●SDP: Luis Robert CF, Dylan Cease SP, Chase Hampton SP
●CWS: Anthony Volpe SS, Everson Pereira OF, Samuel Zavala OF, Victor Lizarraga SP
I am sure that it will get picked apart by partisan fans, but as an Angels fan, I think it is well thought out and fair to all the teams involved.
Yankees get their LHB superstar to slot in front of Judge.
Padres get younger and cheaper hitter and pitchers.
White Sox get a starting SS for the foreseeable future, 2 top 100 prospects, and a SP prospect
I think the Padres might have to substitute a prospect that plays 3B like the Pauley kid I saw in the AFL or a SP like Mazur that has a higher floor and is closer to the majors, but still a good trade for all three teams
I think Hampton over Pereira and it would be even more likely… not a terrible fictional trade at all
This is a terrible deal for the Yankees. One year of Soto for Volpe is already unrealistic. BTV has the Yankees sending out $90M in surplus value and getting back only $23.8M. Not much better for the White Sox, who send out $117.7M for a return of $89.6M. Amazing deal if you like the Padres.
I get that BTV isn’t perfect, but years matter. Salary matters. Cease himself is projected to have more surplus value than Soto, so no way the Padres are getting him and Robert in that deal.
Depends on the goal… Yankees are trying to win in the remaining 2-3 years of Judge’s and Cole’s primes, and Soto can help with that for next year. Plus they might have a better chance signing him moving forward if the team does well with him. I do think another piece from SD would have to go back to NYY in a deal like that though.
Padres would have to clear 40-man roster spots so Brett Sullivan or Jay Groome.
My adjustment.
NYY: Juan Soto OF, Jay Groome SP
SDP: Luis Robert CF, Dylan Cease SP, Will Warren SP
CWS: Anthony Volpe SS, Everson Pereira OF, Samuel Zavala OF, Graham Pauley 3B, Alek Jacob RP
Yankees get their LHB superstar to slot in front of Judge.
Padres get controllable OF and SP.
White Sox get a starting SS for the foreseeable future, 2 top 100 OF prospects, a good 3B prospect that just tore up AA, and an MLB RP
That seems reasonable to me also. Why the additions on the Padres end?
MA’s post. Said that the Yankees would want more back. Also the Padres would have to clear a 40-man spot to make trade work.
Sox already have their SS of the future and the 3B Pauley had 80 AA AB’s
I don’t think even Getz takes that for Cease and Robert.
And BTV is ok with the Orioles Holliday, Kjerstad and Mayo for Cease and Robert. Don’t think that’s happening.
BTV is all you had to say to know you are not serious. Comparable trades matter more than anything BTV takes into account.
Soto alone will require a MLB player with 4-5 years of team control
Another top 50 overall prospect
Another mid-level prospect.
The Yankees don’t have even ONE top 50 prospect. Volpe would be a requirement as the cornerstone of the trade.
Thats not bad. I think the Yankees would be willing to part with 2 but not 3 of their top 100 prospects, so maybe Warren to the Padres instead of Hampton. Then again maybe the Padres are insistent on Hampton because top hitters are so rare in this market.
I agree with you about Pauley instead of Lizarraga because of the White Sox need for a 3B. Pauley will probably never be much more than league average, but that is a huge step up for the White Sox. Lizarraga has a higher ceiling, but a lower floor than Pauley.
Like to read more from the person that wrote this. Where on Reddit were you reading?
If you are a San Diego fan you would love that deal. They get Roberts/cease and pitcher for Soto and two mediocre prospects? Roberts has to be the most valuable asset in that trade by a mile.
The Sox trading Cease makes me cringe. He is easily their best pitcher. Doesn’t the Sox front office know it takes good pitching to win games? I’m watching this Getz fellow and am willing to give him a chance. I hope he knows what he’s doing. We need more good pitching not less.
If braves are going to give up all these players for Cease at least throw in colson montgomery.. arcia will be fine for a another year but its time to get a SS as well
Ok cease for Juan Soto there you go 1 year left 2 years left pretty even
Getz is overplaying his hand. AA probably felt he overpaid a bit on Bummer (given his horrible season) to get a reasonable deal on Cease, yet Getz…typical rook GM…thinks he’s gonna get someone to pay ace trade cost for a non ace pitcher. Cease walks the ballpark, isn’t a true innings eater, and pitched to nearly a 5 ERA. That’s why the Braves have started talking to Tampa, the Dodgers are talking about Giolito, and the Cardinals (who are done adding starters) are now the phantom team involved. A few other pitchers get moved, Getz may be stuck with Cease or be stuck with such an underpay in a trade that he’s mocked throughout baseball industry circles.
If you are going to use “and” to start a sentence, it shouldn’t have a comma after it.