White Sox Trade Dylan Cease to the Cubs?

Hey, remember when the Cubs shocked everyone and hired Craig Counsell to be their new manager and fans thought it meant they were going to be ultra aggressive in the offseason? Those were fun times. Anyway, since nothing has actually happened with the Cubs everyone is grasping for something to talk about. That brings us to the latest hot topic taking over the city. How about a Dylan Cease trade to the Cubs?!?!

Huh? What? This is obviously going to catch fire among Cubs and White Sox fans, but man, Bruce Levine is really throwing stuff against the wall at this point. Again, this is what happens when the Cubs, along with the majority of the league, have not done much in free agency a week before the new year. Sometimes, you do just throw out ideas and now we're here.

During Saturday's Inside the Clubhouse on 670 The Score, Levine brought up how a Cease trade is the "most logical deal for both teams." However, there are a few major problems with this thought process.

To begin with, as we are painfully aware, the free agent market has moved at a snail's pace this offseason and because of that there are several starting pitchers still available. Besides Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed the largest deal for a pitcher in MLB history with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs still have the opportunity to strike big.

The biggest names are a trio of lefties in Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Shōta Imanaga. While the Cubs haven't been linked to Snell, they have made their interest known in Montgomery and Imanaga. Either of those options would only cost the Cubs money.

Secondly, I'm assuming that when Levine describes the White Sox wanting top pitching prospects that it means Cade Horton for the Cubs. And I'm sorry, call me a prospect pervert, prospect hugger, whatever, but I 100% would not trade Horton for two years of Dylan Cease. And hey, as dominant as Cease has been at times, including his 2022 Cy Young runner up campaign, the righty has also been extremely inconsistent throughout his now five-year career.

Horton, who was selected seventh overall in 2022 and made his pro debut in the minors in 2023, has quickly established himself as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball and another strong beginning in 2024, could catapult him to the majors some time in 2024. That's just my speculation, but if the Cubs have a similar projection for Horton, then there's just no chance they consider trading him now if they think he can contribute this soon.

Plus, if the Cubs do want to pursue a starting pitcher in the trade market, you'd think that they would be more willing to trade one of their position players to fill that void. So, no, I don't think the White Sox and Cubs match up here for a Cease trade if the White Sox are looking for pitching prospects in return.

But hey, at least it was fun to think about for a bit. Now, back to making memes about Jed Hoyer hibernating this winter.