White Sox Holding Out For Premium Return For Dylan Cease

Dylan Cease has been the focal point of trade conversation throughout the offseason but according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale the White Sox are still not close to trading their ace. 

Nightingale reports that White Sox general manager Chris Getz and company are holding out for “two premium prospects and two others in return” and that they are going to keep Cease until their asking price is met. This is exactly how Getz should be playing the market. He can afford to be patient. 

The White Sox still have Cease under two years of control. If they choose to carry him until the trade deadline he will still have plenty of trade value. Cease could even see his trade value improve if he gets off to a hot start and another contender feels like they are a pitcher away at the deadline. Considering that he is only 28 years old, and carries a career 11.8 WAR and 3.83 ERA the White Sox could also opt to hang onto him and try to extend him long-term. Aces like Cease do not grow on trees, and Nightengale reports that so far nobody has been willing to offer up two top 100 prospects.

Trading Cease makes the most sense for a White Sox team not expecting to contend next season. But there is no pressure to trade him. As it currently stands Cease is the only significant trade chip the White Sox hold to try and get anything of value in return. The pieces that are added in the Cease trade have the potential to be future cornerstones of the franchise. Why not hold out for the best offer? Getz wants his asking price to be met before pulling the trigger on a deal.

Getz's patience may wind up netting him the return he is looking for. By watching the pitching market unfold, Getz has created a potential bidding war between AL East rivals. A recent report from Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic says that the Yankees and Orioles have “sincere” interest in Dylan Cease. Jon Heyman of the New York Post also indicated that the Yankees have stepped up their pursuit of a top-of-the-rotation arm before the season begins. 

The closer it gets to the start of spring training the more desperate contending teams will be to add a front-of-the-line starter. Teams like the Mets, who missed out on the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes, are casting a wide net to add quality starting pitching. The Cincinnati Reds reportedly turned down a massive asking price from the White Sox but they remain in the hunt for Cease. The Dodgers are also still expressing interest, so Getz has no shortage of trade partners available. 

Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, and Shota Imanga remain the top free-agent pitchers available. Once they are off the board there is going to be scarcity in the pitching market, which should help drive up the price for Cease. Each of them should get a deal north of $100 million making Cease a much more affordable option for a prospect-rich team like the Orioles or Reds. 

Getz has one of the most valuable assets in baseball, a cheap, quilty starting pitcher under club control. It also helps when said starting pitcher has had three consecutive seasons with 200-plus strikeouts, and finished second in the 2022 AL Cy Young voting. It’s the type of resume that comes with a high price tag.