MLB Rumors: 2 reasons the Cardinals should trade for Dylan Cease, and 1 reason they shouldn't
By Curt Bishop
Cardinals: Dylan Cease is a strikeout machine
So often these days, we hear those around the game preach the importance of strikeouts as a weapon for pitchers. Cease can certainly help with that.
St. Louis needs more swing-and-miss pitchers. Cease fanned 227 batters last season and 214 more this year. Most aces around the league are able to record strikeouts and do so frequently. He averaged 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings and 11.1 per nine last year. He averaged over 12 in 2021.
It's been talked about ad naseum in St. Louis, but the pitching staff this year relied heavily on ground balls and a pitch-to-contact approach. With the shift gone, that strategy backfired on the Cardinals.
They can't afford for that to happen again in 2024, but adding Cease would give them the luxury of having swing-and-miss in their rotation. A Cy Young candidate with strikeout stuff would be a major boost for a team that finished in last place in the NL Central this year with a record of 71-91.
Cease won't come cheap by any means, but it may be worth giving up a very expensive package in order to solidify their rotation and their roster for next season.