MLB rumors: Braves trade dead? Yankees Cease backups, Orioles locked on ace

MLB Rumors: Latest Braves trade could mean they're out on Dylan Cease

The Atlanta Braves were a team connected to Dylan Cease from the start of the offseason for a multitude of reasons. The Braves needed another starting pitcher, they needed to add someone who can pitch in the front of the rotation with Max Fried's future in Atlanta in doubt, and it also didn't hurt that Cease is a Georgia native.

While Cease might've seemed like an ideal target for Alex Anthopoulos to pursue, the Braves went in another direction, acquiring and extending Chris Sale. The Braves are taking a pretty sizeable gamble here that the oft-injured Sale can be healthy and productive for them for the next couple of seasons while appearing to pass on the Chicago White Sox right-hander.

MLB.com wrote out six different Dylan Cease mock trades with the possibility of Chicago moving on from their ace still very real, and none of the six offers included the Braves. To go even further, there were six additional teams marked as 'teams to watch' in the Cease race, but the Braves were omitted from that list as well. MLB.com gives 12 teams a chance to acquire Cease, and the Braves are not one of them.

The Braves being left out on this list doesn't mean they're out on Cease officially, but it means it certainly is unlikely that they make this kind of a move. The Braves appear set with Bryce Elder as their likely fifth starter with their top prospects A.J. Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep not far away from joining the fold either.