White Sox Rumors: Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease trades
After a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year, the Chicago White Sox are preparing to regroup in the most drastic way possible: by potentially dumping their entire team, or at least all of the players fans can be at all excited about. GM Chris Getz announced a White Sox fire sale at the beginning of the month in order to recover from the team's worst record since 1931, which not only included a .378 win record but also allegations of a terrible cluhouse culture and their shortstop getting punched in the face by José Ramirez.
There's a lot of work to do, to say the least. Salary dumping and wild trades, while not an enviable position for the team itself to be in, have been interesting to watch from an outside perspective as the White Sox attempt to cobble together a better team than the one they had in 2023. Their most exciting players are in danger of being moved along.
White Sox Rumors: Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease trades
Two rumors have emerged as the most preeminent of concerns for White Sox fans: the futures of Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease. It's entirely possible that more may come up, given the fact that Luis Robert Jr. could be on the chopping block, but for the moment Jiménez and Cease's futures in Chicago look the most uncertain. Deals for both are at different stages, with Cease's being much further along, but all signs point to both of them leaving the White Sox very soon. Here's what you need to know.
White Sox Rumors: Will Eloy Jiménez leave the South Side?
The White Sox have made it clear that no one on their roster is safe from being shipped out of Chicago. This isn't surprising, given the White Sox's top to bottom woes, but it does perhaps cheapen the good seasons of work given by some of their other players, including Eloy Jiménez who behind Dylan Cease will be the team's most valuable trade chip ahead of the new season if trading Robert is off the table. If the White Sox are trying to reduce payroll, placing the burden of his contract on another team would free up a little over $7 million next year.
Jiménez spent most of his year at DH, where he hit .272 with 18 home runs and 64 RBI. These aren't exceptional numbers, especially at DH, but they could be good enough to get the White Sox a player or two in return to help stanch the bleeding if any reported trade interest comes to fruition, while also getting rid of at least part of their $21.5 million obligation to him over the next three years.
Jiménez's youth put up against his history of injury create a bit of a complex package. He'll be 27 throughout the 2024 season, but an appendectomy kept him out for three weeks this season, and in 2022 a hamstring strain put him on the 60-day IL, hampering what very well could've been a career year (he batted .295 with 16 home runs and 54 RBI in just 84 games). Still, there's no shortage of teams that are in need of a DH, or at least more options at DH (Padres? Brewers? Cubs?), which makes it unsurprising that Jiménez has been receiving interest from the league. It shouldn't shock anyone if he doesn't take the field in a White Sox uniform next year.
White Sox Rumors: Which suitor will win the Dylan Cease war?
Dylan Cease is one of baseball's most talked-about commodities at the moment, and he's not even a free agent. Cease is in his second year of arbitration with the White Sox, meaning he's still under team control for two more years. He's expected to earn $8.3 million next year in Chicago if he's retained, which isn't much for an ace who placed second in Cy Young voting last year, but money seems like less of an issue to the White Sox than the potential for a large return they might receive in trading him away from Chicago. The many suitors who are lining up to inquire about Cease seem to understand that whatever they send to the South Side in return for him will have to be good.
According to Bob Nightengale, the Dodgers are in on Cease, hoping to bolster their either injury-hindered or young and untested rotation. Most recently, the Atlanta Braves seem the most interested. The Braves could have a leg up with the White Sox, seeing as they've dealt Aaron Bummer and five Braves, including Mike Soroka and Nicky Lopez, between themselves already this offseason.
Right now, a potential Cease trade is one of the most interesting storylines to watch, as it's become less of a question of 'if' and more a question of 'when' and 'where.' JP Morosi reported yesterday that trade talks were ramping up, and a Cease trade before Winter Meetings could be possible. Despite struggling this year with the White Sox, his still very recent success and near-Cy Young win put his potential for a bounce back over other hopeful improvers like Lance Lynn or Noah Syndergaard.
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