Dodgers Still Active in Starting Pitcher Market, Among Suitors In Signing the Sensational Ace
The Dodgers need to put the finishing touches on the roster ahead of the 2024 season. Even after making huge splashes with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow, the roster could still use some help in the pitching department and in the outfield.
With a full 40-man roster, a trade for any help at this point seems possible. Rumored to be interested in RHP Dylan Cease from the White Sox all offseason, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers are still among those in the mix.
The White Sox are weighing offers for Cease, and the Yankees and Orioles are among those to express “sincere” interest, according to major-league sources briefed on the discussions. Other teams also are serious, however. While the exact list of suitors is not known, the Dodgers, Cardinals and Red Sox are among the teams possibly in the mix.
Ceaese, 28, finished second in the Cy Young voting just a year ago. Cease stays healthy and he pitches every fifth day like clockwork. With two years of team control left, the Dodgers would need to send a hefty package back to Chicago for him.
The Dodgers may not need someone of Cease’s caliber, though. Yamamoto and Glasnow headline the rotation with a combination of Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller behind them. Then, in 2025, Shohei Ohtani joins the ranks to make this rotation a three-headed kaiju – King Ghidora.
All of this to say, the Dodgers would be giving up a lot for someone who, at best, slots in as the No. 3. Rosenthal does not believe the Dodgers are done adding talent though.
The Dodgers, even after spending $1 billion this offseason on right-handers Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, are not ruling out the addition of another starter with Ohtani out as a pitcher until 2025, sources said.
No one would complain if the Dodgers brought Dylan Cease into the fold. Just at that price point, it does not feel likely.
Regardless, the Dodgers need to add one more starting pitcher. They have plenty of options in both free agency and the trade market. Maybe a reunion with Hyun-Jin Ryu is in order?
