MLB Insider: What I'm hearing about a potential Dylan Cease trade

The top end of the free-agent pitching market, except for Aaron Nola and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has been at a standstill seemingly all offseason. 

Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain unsigned and don’t appear close to signing. The mid-tier starting pitching market has seen some movement, but there is an abundance of options still available. Then there’s the pitching market, which includes right-handers Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes and Shane Bieber, among others.

Of the three, Cease is the big prize. He’s under contract for two more seasons and is still arbitration-eligible. He’s only 28. He has a career 3.53 ERA, is a proven ace, and has started at least 32 games in each of the last three seasons. He also has at least 214 strikeouts in each season during that span and has proven to be very durable.

Which makes Cease a valuable commodity on the trade market and with the White Sox signaling that they will listen on any player, the interest in Cease is strong. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are among the teams connected to Cease.

What I'm hearing on a potential Dylan Cease trade

The Orioles have long made the most sense for a potential Cease trade. They have the prospect capital (the top-rated farm system in baseball) and the need for a high-end starting pitcher to facilitate a move. The Yankees also make sense, but would they part with Jasson Dominguez to complete a trade? That is unknown, but my speculation is that isn’t something that New York would be in a hurry to do.

Among the other teams, the Cardinals and Red Sox both feel unlikely. It’s little surprise to hear them connected to Cease — they both need frontline starting pitching — but St. Louis has traditionally been hesitant to part with top prospects in trades and Boston is examining the possibility of shedding payroll, with reliever Kenley Jansen and outfielder Masataka Yoshida both mentioned in trade rumors. 

The Dodgers, while having a need for Cease, feel more likely to pursue a different avenue to fill the rotation.

Ultimately, while a trade is not a certainty, rival teams expect the White Sox to move Cease. The package that they can get for the right-hander should go a long way toward shaping their long-term future — and the abundance of teams involved should only help new general manager Chris Getz maximize the return for the star pitcher.