The case for the White Sox to not trade Dylan Cease this offseason
The trade rumors and talk are swirling around Major League Baseball right now. There is talk of trading several Chicago White Sox players who remain with the team. Eloy Jimenez’s name has come up, and even Luis Robert Jr. has had his name bantered around as being on the trade block. But there is one player, in particular, whose status as a tradeable “piece” is gaining some steam.
That player is Dylan Cease.
The White Sox best pitcher is being mentioned as a potential trade piece. The strongest rumors have him going to the Los Angeles Dodgers (and now the Atlanta Braves are coming into focus as a trade partner) but as of this writing, nothing has happened yet. It’s interesting that the White Sox would be interested in trading away what has become the cornerstone of their pitching staff. He’s the rock, the one that they can rely on. Cease is clearly their best pitcher even with some of the new additions that they have brought on.
But the rumors of them letting him go are strong and they are coming from several sources. Is a trade imminent? Are they just working out the fine details now? Are White Sox fans and those fans of Cease going to be heartbroken to hear that he has been traded somewhere else?
Trading Cease would set the White Sox back too much
Hopefully, he is not traded to another team. We must hope that the White Sox don’t get rid of the rock in their pitching staff Cease is. The team must consider that they really can’t afford to trade the only star pitcher on the team no matter what they get back in return. Sure, Cease is probably going to bring a nice return back in a trade but the White Sox need to consider the future. Unless the haul is worthwhile, the trade is not going to be worth letting go of him.
Consider how popular he is with the White Sox fans and the players. Cease is a leader on a team that needs to have leaders. He knows the team, he knows the players (although many of them are seeing themselves outside of the organization these days) and he knows how things work with the White Sox. He is definitely very valuable to the team and shouldn’t go anywhere.
The White Sox, being a team in transition, are going to try whatever it is they can do to win games. If that means trading off the various pieces that made up the team in 2023 then that means the team will struggle in 2024 and beyond. They need to keep guys like Cease to ensure at least a little stability heading into the 2024 season.
They honestly cannot afford to lose Cease but if they decide to trade him, they need to make sure that they get a lot back for him in return. They can’t get shorted. They must get something in return including at least another starting pitcher to help take his place and maybe a catcher to help them solidify that position as well. There is a lot left that they have to accomplish and any trade needs to contribute to making themselves better this offseason.