3 Reasons It Was Smart The Chicago White Sox Traded Dylan Cease
Yes, the starting rotation will be awful, but the trade had to happen for these three reasons...
After an entire offseason of constant trade rumors, the Chicago White Sox finally traded Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres for three prospects and a relief pitcher.
The trade needed to be done despite the starting rotation now trending towards somewhere between mediocre at best and darn awful at worst. Who is ready for Erick Fedde to be the Opening Day starter?
Sarcasm aside, the Sox needed to move Cease for three reasons...
The team traded Cease when his value was its highest.
The White Sox got the process right. That rarely if ever happens on 35th and Shields.
The Sox made no indications they were going to extend Cease. Knowing ownership, they were never going to pay Cease the nine-figure long-term deal Dylan would eventually want. Plus, this team is now darn awful the contention window abruptly slammed shut last season.
The team is in a rebuild (we will get to that shortly). Cease was the biggest asset outside of the Luis Robert Jr. the Southsiders had to get a good return of prospects to help Rebuild 2.0 along.
Any team that acquired Cease would have him for two seasons since he is still arbitration-eligible next offseason. That means he is cheaper than free agents Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. He is also 28 and durable. That made him even more attractive.
You can point out that he had a disappointing 2023 season after nearly winning the AL Cy Young in 2022. He also finished with a 3.7 fWAR and 3.72 FIP. Plus, he still possesses the game's best slider when it is right. If he can command that pitch better and get better defensive help, he should return to dominant form.
He was having a good spring training. That was enough of a showcase to intrigue contenders to meet the team's demands.
His value was never going to be any higher than it is right now. Sure, the team could have held onto him, let him make his Opening Day start, and show he truly returned to Cy Cease form during the first half of the season. They then could move him at the trade deadline.
The risk there is he either gets hurt or he continues down this spiral and then the Sox are stuck with a depreciating asset.
The Sox gained more talented prospects for Rebuild 2.0.
Despite what ownership thinks, general manager Chris Getz is not going to turn things around quickly. This is a rebuild folks after the last one failed thanks to owner Jerry Reinsdorf, former manager Tony La Russa, current manager Pedro Grifol, and former general manager Rick Hahn along with former EVP Kenny Williams.
Now Getz must try to replenish the White Sox farm system that is currently ranked 20th in baseball. Hahn and Williams helped him get a head start with last year's trade deadline deals they made before they were fired. It was still not going to be enough to restock the farm to give this franchise a shot another title window.
The Sox added a top 100 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America in Drew Thorpe. He has one of the best changeups in the minor leagues.
Let's break down what we know.
— Duke Coughlin (@ThatPodGuyDuke) March 14, 2024
Samuel Zavala (who just barely missed the Top 100 according to multiple sites) had 14 HR, 71 RBI, 22 doubles, 20 stolen bases, a line of .267/.420/.451 with an .871 OPS in A ball last season.
...at 18 years old.
Drew Thorpe (no. 58 in the 2024… https://t.co/7H8MAy1dRs
Samuel Zavala is 19 and could finally be the prospect that solves the eternal problem in right field (or eventually replaces Robert Jr. if the Sox trade him eventually).
samuel zavala in 600 PA in A ball has a 135 wRC+...not a lot of 17, 18 year olds doing that
— enjoying the ride (@Sean_W_Anderson) March 14, 2024
Jairo Iriarte is a pitcher who throws heat and can be a future rotational piece.
Jairo Iriarte sat 96 with his fastball last year, 15” vertical break from a 5.4’ release, 6.8’ extension. Plus strikes on it, limited damage well. Plus pitch.
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) March 14, 2024
Slider and changeup to go with it. Slider added some velo as season progressed. Was 85 with 8” sweep late in year, 44%… https://t.co/ZmXeS8r1tH
All three immediately went into the Sox' top 10 prospects once they were acquired according to MLB Pipeline. Thorpe is now the Sox' second-best pitching prospect and third overall. Zavala is No. 6 and Iriarte is No. 9.
Colson Montgomery, Noah Schultz, and Jacob Gonzalez are the only three players in the top 10 the Sox drafted. Bryan Ramos was an international free agent signing. That is now six players the Sox acquired via trades to bolster the farm system. That is what a rebuilding team has to do during a teardown--leverage existing assets for additional future assets.
This signals the Sox will eventually pivot away from trying to be the Kansas City Royals.
The White Sox might as well be called Royals North with how many former Kansas City players this team currently has on the roster or invited to camp.
Now that Getz is completing the roster teardown portion, he had to do something to patch together a roster until the kids can play. He might as well do it with players he is familiar with.
This trade signals that soon the team will not be trying to be royal. Instead, it is shaping up to be a team that will be built around starting pitching.
You could be looking at a future starting rotation of Schultz, Thorpe, Nick Nastrini, Iriarte, and Jake Eder. That has the potential to be a good rotation and one on the cheap as they will all be under team control. Even if a couple of those guys end up not panning out, if the Sox could hit on two or three of them, that should put them on the way toward being competitive.
It is almost like the Sox are starting to replicate another division rival in the Cleveland Guardians. If you are going to mimic a rival, that is the one to do copy as they develop pitching.
We will get more of an idea of where Getz is going to take this team once the draft happens as that will be the first draft that he will oversee. At least there is an idea of what he is trying to build on the Southside and eventually, it will not include so many former Royals.
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