3 prospects Orioles should trade for Dylan Cease, 1 they shouldn't

The Baltimore Orioles are one of several teams interested in White Sox ace Dylan Cease. The Orioles making Cease a primary target makes all the sense in the world as despite their gaudy record, they won games with a rotation that left a lot to be desired.

Kyle Bradish was a revelation for Baltimore, and Grayson Rodriguez finished his season strong. The rest of the staff, however, was pretty subpar. Even Kyle Gibson, the pitcher who led the team in innings pitched, is now in a Cardinals uniform.

The Orioles need another frontline starter, but won't spend big on players like Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Blake Snell. Where they can do damage, however, is in the trade market. Sure, there are players like Corbin Burnes and Tyler Glasnow the Orioles can try and acquire, but those players are on expiring deals. Cease has an extra year of control, giving Baltimore two years of him instead of one. That's a huge deal.

In addition to their quality big league roster, the Orioles have one of the best farm systems in the sport, giving them enough ammo to pull off a deal if they truly want Cease. There are several prospects the Orioles should consider trading, but there's one in particular Mike Elias must hold onto at all costs.

The Orioles should make Heston Kjerstad available in a Dylan Cease trade

Heston Kjerstad was one of the fast risers in this Baltimore system. He finished the 2022 season as their ninth-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and rose all the way to third at this season's end-of-year rankings. Considering how stout the Orioles farm system is, seeing Kjerstad rise like that was super impressive.

The reason behind the ascension was quite simple. The 24-year-old just tore the cover off the ball in the minors this past season. In 122 games split between AA and AAA, Kjerstad slashed .303/.376/.528 with 21 home runs and 55 RBI. Kjerstad's performance would earn himself a late-season call-up where he'd perform admirably, hitting a pair of home runs in his 33 plate appearances.

Kjerstad is obviously a player Baltimore would love to keep, but with them having Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins, and Anthony Santander penciled into their outfield, he's not a player they must hold onto. The White Sox have a hole in right field where Kjerstad can step in and mash.