Who’s Left? After the decisions made by the Cincinnati Reds never favored the veteran decide his Fate against the Team
Well, it only took a couple of days for me to take the Atlanta Braves out of the Dylan Cease sweepstakes. I previously highlighted the reigning National League East champions as a fit given their top-heavy pitching system and rumors circulating through the inter webs. But on Saturday, they filled their rotation gap by acquiring former Chicago White Sox All-Star Chris Sale.
While the overarching premise of my piece from Thursday may still be in play, one that may have the Sox focusing on pitching in a return for Cease, the Sale deal just eliminated a potential suitor. Another team in need of pitching, the Cincinnati Reds, filled a rotation vacancy by acquiring another former Sox hurler, Frankie Montas, on Saturday.
These moves seemingly take both teams out of the Cease sweepstakes. While I was more intrigued by the prospects of a deal with the Reds given their robust farm system, clearly the asking price was less palatable to them than just giving Montas a check for $16 million. With the Braves, Reds, and Los Angeles Dodgers seemingly out of the running for Cease, who’s left?
Finding a Dance Partner
Heading into the winter, just about every White Sox fan was salivating over the idea of making a deal with the Baltimore Orioles. The O’s have the sport’s top farm system, with a heavy position-player focus. Many of these players are blocked by young, affordable talent on the Orioles’ active roster, thus making them expendable in a sense. So the fit with the Sox seems natural, to say the least.
However, the South Siders appear to have a high asking price for Cease, as they should. The Orioles are run by Mike Elias, a man who cut his teeth in the Houston Astros organization during their great teardown and rebuild, doesn’t appear eager to part with his young prospect talent despite a clear need for pitching upgrades following an embarrassing postseason exit. I’m not going to focus heavily on the Orioles because we all know why it’s a fit, though it just doesn’t seem to be happening, yet.
What other clubs out there make sense to acquire Dylan Cease? I think there are a few teams that simply haven’t been discussed enough as potential options for Cease’s services. So, let’s have a look.
Chicago Cubs
Wouldn’t it be a cruel twist of fate if Cease was dealt back to the team that drafted him? The deal that sent Jose Quintana to the North Side for Cease and Eloy Jimenez was one of the defining moments of the White Sox’ last rebuild. Now, the teams could find themselves as partners once again. The Chicago Cubs narrowly missed the playoffs in 2023, and after declining the option on Marcus Stroman (#FAKE), they conceivably have a rotation void to fill.
They do have young options in Jordan Wicks, Hayden Wisniewski, and Keegan Thompson. But if the Cubs are looking for more certainty, Cease would present an interesting option. Given that Kyle Hendricks is in the twilight of his career, and judging by reactions on social media Cubs fans can’t stomach watching Jameson Taillon regularly, Cease could be a reliable piece for a team that should reclaim the NL Central next year.
Adding Cease to their rotation would better position them for October and the powerful offenses they would run into from the likes of the Braves, Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubs possess the No. 4 farm system in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, so there’s no shortage of options Chris Getz would have to choose from as he looks to make his first signature deal.
