White Sox Trade Proposal Sends Dylan Cease to AL East in 5-Player Dealite Sox Trade Proposal Sends Dylan Cease to AL East
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease has been a Chicago White Sox trade candidate since the offseason started in November. With spring training just a couple of weeks away, no trade has materialized yet. However, it’s not like there isn’t at least one team that looks like an obvious fit.
That club is the Baltimore Orioles. Plenty of hypothetical trade proposals have sent Cease to various clubs. Back on January 6, MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa shared the following trade idea that’d bring the right-hander to Baltimore in a five-player deal:
- Orioles receive: RHP Dylan Cease
- White Sox receive: catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo, second baseman/outfielder Connor Norby, left-handed pitcher Cade Povich and infielder Ramón Urías
Urías is the only big leaguer among the group of players headed to Chicago in this hypothetical trade package. When looking at MLB.com’s 2023 rankings, Basallo (fifth), Norby (seventh) and Povich (11th) were all ranked within the Orioles’ top 15 prospects.
An unnamed American League executive told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on January 27 about what they think is left for Baltimore to do this winter. “The Orioles still need a starting pitcher,” they said. “They had a great year [in 2023] and have a terrific young core, but adding a veteran starter would go a long way if they hope to repeat [as AL East champions].”
Orioles Could Use Another Arm Atop Their Rotation
The Orioles are fresh off a 101-win performance in 2023. They’ve only made one major offseason move this winter. It involved signing reliever Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million deal. Baltimore’s rotation suffered a loss that hasn’t been replaced yet, though.
According to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource, the club’s Opening Day starting staff includes Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, John Means, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells. The one notable name missing is Kyle Gibson. He signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after a dependable year with the Orioles.
While his 4.73 ERA and 1.32 WHIP don’t jump off the page, he was a veteran arm that tossed 192 innings across 33 starts, which led to a 15-9 record. As it currently stands, the Orioles’ starting rotation is expected to produce 10.3 WAR in 2024, per FanGraphs’ depth-chart projections. That’s the seventh-lowest mark in baseball. No AL East rotation has a lower projection. The next closest is the Boston Red Sox, who check in at 11.9 WAR.
The Orioles are entering 2024 with MLB’s second-lowest payroll, according to Spotrac. They also have a highly-regarded farm system full of elite talent. If there is motivation to make some kind of major acquisition — whether it be via free agency or trade — Baltimore certainly seems capable of doing so.
