Late last week, the Baltimore Orioles shook up the trade market, acquiring ace Corbin Burnes in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Apparently though, before that deal went through, they had made an offer to the Chicago White Sox for ace Dylan Cease.
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
The Chicago White Sox believe that the Milwaukee Brewers’ return of young lefty D.L. Hall and shortstop Joey Ortiz for Corbin Burnes should be the floor in what they should receive in return for ace Dylan Cease.
The Orioles offered basically the same package for Cease, along with another player. Cease, who is earning $8 million this season, however has two years of control compared to Burnes’ one season.
So, that’s interesting. The Sox got basically the same offer and rejected it.
A few things to consider:
1) The White Sox are in a position of power here. They don’t have to trade Cease, so they certainly don’t need to take a return that’s lighter than they want. They can hold onto Cease until the trade deadline and trade him to some panicked contender, or they could try to trade him again next season. Furthermore, if the Sox think they will be in contention again soon, they could sign him to a new deal themselves.
2) While the Sox have the power, they are also running a risk. Does Cease pitch poorly in Chicago for the first half of the season, plummeting his trade value? Even worse, does he get hurt? Could the Sox really get left with nothing?
Chicago finished fourth in the American League Central a year ago. The 27-year-old Cease struggled in 2023, just as the White Sox did. He went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA. He’s still an elite strikeout artist, fanning 214 batters in 177.0 innings. Lifetime, he’s 43-35 with a 4.58 ERA. He finished second in American League Cy Young voting in 2022.
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