Growing Sense White Sox Could Wait Until July Or Later To Move Cease

The odds of Dylan Cease remaining on the White Sox roster come Opening Day are increasing. The White Sox are continuing to shop their ace but according to multiple reports, there is a growing sense among rival executives that general manager Chris Getz could wait until July, or later, to move Cease. 

Earlier this week ESPN’s Jesse Rodger’s reported that the Atlanta Braves offered 23-year-old infielder Vaghn Grissom as part of a Cease package. However, Getz stuck to his asking price leading the Braves to acquire Chris Sale from the Red Sox in exchange for Grissom instead. 

The White Sox are still in need of a second baseman and Grissom could have served as the long-term solution at the position. He slashed .330/.419/.501 in 102 games in Triple-A last season and owns a career .287/.339/.407 slash line in 216 big league at-bats. 

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale also reported on Sunday that the White Sox asking price “remains awfully strong” and that in talks with the Yankees, they were seeking outfield prospect Spencer Jones or right-handed pitcher Chase Hampton. He added that Getz and company were asking the Baltimore Orioles for outfield prospects Colton Cowser or Heston Kjerstad as part of a deal. 

Cowser is the Orioles' No. 3 overall prospect. The 23-year-old outfielder was the top-ranked college hitter in the 2021 Draft class. Kjerstad is the Orioles No. 4 prospect who hit 21 home runs in the minor leagues last season. 

The Orioles are in desperate need of starting pitching, and adding an arm of Cease’s caliber could be enough to help get them over the hump. With the Orioles No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday likely off the table it’s understandable why Getz is insisting Cowser or Kjerstad to be included. 

Multiple reports have indicated that Getz has a no-nonsense negotiating style which has frustrated many teams in the market for Cease. Getz wants at least two high-end prospects as part of a multi-player package and he hasn’t shown any willingness to budge off his asking price. 

One of the teams interested in Cease is the Cincinnati Reds. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported early in December that the White Sox asked the Reds for a four-player package that centered around pitching prospects Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty, as well as two position players.  Lowder and Petty are the Reds No. 2 and No. 6 prospects. Jason Williams of the Cincinnati Enquirer provided further detail on Chris Getz's trade demands with the Reds, writing that Getz wanted Lowder, Edwin Arroyo, Connor Phillips, and “at least one more prospect”. Phillips and Arroyo are the Red’s No. 3 and 4 overall prospects. All three are considered Top 100 prospects from MLB Pipeline. 

The White Sox are in no rush to trade Cease, nor do they need to be. They can afford to wait. As the days continue to inch closer toward Spring Training, teams who have struck out in the free agent market will become more desperate. 

Getz was quoted in Nightengale’s article saying: “All it takes is one team to want to jump out, perhaps, and get a deal done.  In the case of Dylan, I don’t think there’s a club out there that hasn’t expressed some level of interest in him.”