Fans witnessed Spencer Strider grow into a true ace last season, as the Atlanta Braves topped 100 wins for the second year in a row. Yet, for the second consecutive season, the Braves were eliminated in four games in the NLDS.

In 2023, Strider held up his end of the bargain in the playoffs, making two starts and holding opponents to an ERA of 2.84. Yet, rough starts by Bryce Elder (20.25 ERA) and Max Fried (6.75 ERA) made life difficult for Atlanta.

Now, the Braves could be close to making a significant addition to their pitching staff via trade.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Braves are viewed as favorites to trade for 2022 Cy Young runner-up Dylan Cease, of the Chicago White Sox.

Cease, is coming off a down season by his standards, where he led MLB with 33 starts, but also had an ERA of 4.58. Yet his 3.72 FIP suggests Cease was the victim of a bad Chicago defense. Still, it’s fair to say Cease wasn’t as excellent this past season as he was in 2022 when he led MLB with just 78 walks, finishing with a WHIP of 1.109.

In other words, with the White Sox seemingly set on trading the 28-year-old, they would appear to be selling low on Cease, who is under team control until the 2026 season.

But the Braves aren’t the only team mentioned in Cease trade talks. Nightengale also tabbed the Baltimore Orioles as favorites too, and there surely are other teams in the mix.