Would the Chicago White Sox Have Received Better Players For Dylan Cease From The Texas Rangers?

Would a combination of Porter, Leiter, Duran, Foscue, or Gutierrez be better than what the Sox got from the Padres?

Brock Porter

Porter was ranked 88 among the MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects. So immediately Thorpe is considered the better prospect. Brock also has one season of minor-league ball. He had a 2.47 ERA last in Low-A ball. Opposing hitters hit just .161 off of him. His fastball can hit 100mph from time-to-time.

Porter has better velocity than Thorpe, but Drew might be in the rotation by the All-Star break. Porter's arrival in the majors is estimated to be in 2026 at the earliest.

Justin Foscue

The infielder has made it all the way to Triple-A. His slash line was .266/.394/.468 in 2023. He has a career .499 slugging percentage in three minor league seasons. He can certainly drive the ball with 50 career home runs during his time in the minors.

His arm and defensive range are not that good. The feeling is he will have to play first or DH at the major league level. The Sox are set there with Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jimenez. Also, he is 25. If he was the position player in the deal, the Sox would be getting a prospect who is six years older than Savala.

Anthony Gutierrez

Like Savala, he is 19. He has made it as high as Low-A ball. His slash line was .259/.326/.338. A .338 slugging percentage in 78 games are concerning. He is also still raw at the plate where Zavala is already showing tremendous patience at the plate and an ability to drive the ball with his numbers.

Gutierrez also bats right-handed while Zavala swings from the left side. The Sox system can always use left-handed hitting.