Cubs rumors: Dylan Cease link, Cody Bellinger latest, catching depth tested

Cubs Rumors: Dylan Cease named 'logical' Chicago trade target

The Chicago White Sox are going to trade Dylan Cease eventually. At least, that's the word on the street. Cease has been a mainstay in trade rumors for months as the Southsiders embrace their rebuild under new GM Chris Getz.

Bruce Levine of '670 The Score' recently proclaimed that trading Dylan Cease to the Cubs would be the "most logical deal for both sides."

Sending Cease across town could sting for the White Sox, who developed the 27-year-old into the 2022 Cy Young runner-up. The Cubs and White Sox don't see each other often, but Cease would essentially be moving to the White Sox's flashier, more widely beloved neighbor in this scenario. Cease-Cubs billboards all over town wouldn't exactly enchant the White Sox faithful.

That said, there's logic to Cease as a Cubs target. The Cubs need another ace to pair with first-time All-Star Justin Steele on the mound. Marcus Stroman is probably off the Cubs' radar and Chicago never made a serious effort to sign top free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto. There's an outside chance Hoyer and the front office mount a campaign to sign Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, but the Cubs' hopes of a splashy free agent addition on the mound are fading.

Craig Counsell is one of the best bullpen managers in the league, but his expertise can only carry the Cubs so far if the rotation is made up of spare parts. The Cubs need a proper ace. Cease has the potential to supply just that, and he's relatively young with two years of team control left on his contract. That's why he is so coveted. Meanwhile, the Braves — long considered a prime suitor for Cease — may have taken themselves out of the running with their recent trade for Chris Sale.

A sixth-round pick to the Cubs in 2014, Cease has history with the organization. He struggled mightily in 2023 — 4.58 ERA and 1.418 WHIP in 33 starts — but he encouraged whiffs (214 K's in 177 innings pitched) at his customary rate. Cease's youth and track record of success provide optimism that he can turn last season into an aberration, rather than the new norm. Especially if Counsell is his manager.