The Chicago White Sox are trading off a ton of people. It has been a couple of days since they made a trade but more are coming with the deadline approaching on Tuesday.
For most of the trade season, it was assumed that Dylan Cease was one of the White Sox players that are considered to be "untouchable".
That was always strange considering the fact that Cease, a Scott Boris client, is only a couple of years away from free agency.
If the White Sox don't see themselves contending in that window, they should move him for front-end prospects right now. There are teams out there that would give it.
The White Sox very well could move Dylan Cease before Tuesday.
Well, a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggests that the Sox could actually be softening their stance on not trading Cease.
The White Sox are listening on Dylan Cease & everyone else on their roster, according to @Ken_Rosenthal.
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) July 31, 2023
The perception is that Cease & Luis Robert Jr. remain all but untouchable. But some executives see the willingness to entertain offers as an opening.https://t.co/qXsdA1m5IQ pic.twitter.com/grub4syEvC
That doesn't mean that it is unlikely, it just means that they could be listening to realistic offers for him.
One of the other reasons it might be worth it to move him is the fact that he would be the best starting pitcher on the market right now. For a contending team with a 2-3 year window left, Cease would be perfect for them.
Those are the kinds of teams that a rebuilding franchise can take advantage of. You won't find too many pitchers in Cease's situation with his ability available too often.
Dylan Cease was the American League runner-up for the Cy Young Award in 2022. It hasn't been quite that dominant for him in 2023 but the White Sox are not a good baseball team which makes it hard.
If Cease went to another team, a good team, he'd get back to his dominance. Other teams out there are smarter and better at putting players in a position to succeed which is something he'd like to do.
This is a sad situation. One year ago, it was a wonder how many years the White Sox could build this rotation around Cease. Now, they are talking about potentially trading him. With Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn already gone, this rotation could be in shambles very soon.