Dylan Cease is reportedly one of the White Sox core four players considered untouchable. But do these three trade packages have enough to acquire the ace?
It's been reported that the White Sox are actively looking to trade away their expiring contracts, including Keynan Middleton, Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn. Along with this report, it includes that their "core four" players are not likely to be traded, which includes their ace, Dylan Cease.
But even Dylan Cease could be pulled from the White Sox if the price is right. And there are teams in MLB that have the depth in their farm system that could make a realistic push for him. Whether or not he is dealt is still to be seen, but let's look at a few different trade packages that could cause the White Sox to think twice before hanging up the phone.
The Reds could use their deep farm system to push for the White Sox ace, Dylan Cease
It's no secret that the Cincinnati Reds are loaded with young depth through their entire organization while having very minimal high level starting pitching. In fact, before the All-Star break, their starting pitching was successfully pitching them out of games more often than they were pitching them into the game.
But the Reds would be foolish to empty their farm system for a rental pitcher because their young core is only going to be better as years go by. So the solution? An ace in his prime, with multiple years of control. Dylan Cease.
Now let's dive deeper into this trade offer. Does it make sense? For the Reds? For the White Sox? Let's look at it from both perspectives.
For the White Sox, obviously it's not ideal to lose Dylan Cease. They would get to clear $8 million off their books by dumping Kendall Graveman to the Reds. Replacing him with Santillan would be beneficial for their payroll. On the bigger side of the trade, Chase Petty gives Chicago a huge potential pitching prospect to help kick start their rebuild. Levi Stoudt is no slouch either. But the highlight of the trade would be MLB Pipeline's 24th ranked prospect, Edwin Arroyo, who would immediately join Colson Montgomery at the top of their system.
On the Reds side, this may seem like a lot to give up, but stay with me. Arroyo is blocked in the Reds system by a ton of infielders. His value is astronomically higher to another team than it is with the Reds. Chase Petty is a great prospect, but the Reds have pitching depth like Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Connor Phillips and Brandon Williamson ahead of him. They would also have Cease in this scenario.
Will it happen? Only time will tell. But this package could at least take Cease off the untouchable list and give Chicago something to talk about.
The Astros have labeled Dylan Cease as their "dream acquisition"
The Houston Astros have found themselves in unchartered territory, trailing the Texas Rangers by four games in the AL West. This has caused a new kind of urgency to emerge out of the Houston faithful, with dream trades floating around the Astros media. Let's look at a theoretical trade package that could try to net them the White Sox ace, Dylan Cease.
The first thing to note here is that the Astros would likely need to drain their farm system to make this trade. They only have one of MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects, leaving them as one of the shallower farm systems in the league. They would need to deal three or four top ten prospects to get the White Sox attention.
From the Astros perspective, they continue their journey in a 'win now, worry about next year when it comes' mindset. This has worked well for them year after year and in order to acquire a controllable ace, they're going to part ways with top prospects. Losing these guys wouldn't be the worst-case scenario because acquiring Dylan Cease catapults them back in the World Series favorite mix.
For Chicago, this return of prospects could get their attention. Ryan Clifford would provide them a huge power potential outfield prospect to join their team in the coming years. Korey Lee has big power and a hit tool that is showing signs of improvement. He could be a good catching option in the future. Pedro Leon is a tremendous athlete that could fit in the White Sox future, while Spencer Arrighetti will be lights out if he can reel in a small command issue. They would also be able to dump a year and a half of Graveman's contract as well as four years of Benintendi's $75 million contract.
This trade may not get the deal done, but it would be a great place to start. Not only would the White Sox net a couple good prospects, but parting ways with those huge contracts could get them to say yes.
The Dodgers could dive deep into their farm system for a Dylan Cease trade
The Dodgers are always in the market for pitching, especially a controllable ace in his prime. This type of deal only makes sense for a team that is willing to reload their farm system, which Los Angeles has done time and time again. But a trade for Cease would dive deep into anybody's farm, even the Dodgers.
For the Dodgers, this trade makes complete sense. They would add Dylan Cease to a loaded team for the next few years. Adding Keynan Middleton to their bullpen would be a huge upgrade as well. They have too many assets to know what to do with, which leaves a lot of their guys expendable. Stone and Nastrini are expendable because they would be blocked by Bobby Miller, Julio Urias, Dylan Cease and Emmet Sheehan in this situation. Dalton Rushing is their second highest rated catcher prospect as well.
And for the White Sox, adding these four prospects would kickstart their rebuild in a huge way. They would add four top 30 prospects in a single trade, while also having the ability to deal Giolito, Lynn, and others in order to add more to their prospect pool.
Moving Cease will always be a long shot until it happens. But if anybody has the prospect capital and the guts to do it, it's the Los Angeles Dodgers.
