MLB Rumors: Braves trade buzz, Dylan Cease rumors, Marcus Stroman price
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Will the White Sox trade Dylan Cease?
There’s an expectation around MLB that the Chicago White Sox will sell at the trade deadline. That much is obvious. Who they will deal, however, remains a question.
Dylan Cease would immediately become the most attractive trade commodity available…if he’s made available. There are a couple of things standing in the way of that, however.
First, Cease is a really good pitcher at his best! He finish second in AL Cy Young voting recently and is the unquestioned ace of this White Sox staff. Second, his value isn’t all that high right now. Yes, Cease is under contract until 2025, but he’s struggled with command this season and sports a 4.63 ERA, though he is trending in the right direction. As Andy McCullough pointed out in a recent column, trading Cease away comes with a price:
"“The team’s most exciting asset is Cease. But after finishing second in the Cy Young voting last year, Cease has struggled with his command and watched his strikeout rate tumble. Since he is under team control through 2025, the team may want to wait for his value to increase. But then the team runs the risk of Cease struggling even more, like so many of his teammates have done in recent years. The choice, on all of these players, will be painful. It is hard to admit defeat. But sometimes it is necessary.”"
Admitting defeat is fine, but by no means should the White Sox punt on competitive baseball five years down the road. Trading Cease could be doing just that.