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In their search for another starting pitcher, the New York Yankees are not simply exploring the top remaining free agents, left-handers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. They also are pursuing trade possibilities, including one for the best starter available, Chicago White Sox righty Dylan Cease.
The White Sox are weighing offers for Cease, and the Yankees and Orioles are among those to express “sincere” interest, according to major-league sources briefed on the discussions. Other teams also are serious, however. While the exact list of suitors is not known, the Dodgers, Cardinals and Red Sox are among the teams possibly in the mix.
The Yankees already have moved seven pitchers and catcher Kyle Higashioka in trades for outfielders Juan Soto, Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo, compromising their depth. But after losing the bidding for Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the Dodgers, they might be inclined to push for Cease, who will cost approximately $25 million in his final two years of arbitration, as opposed to expected deals of at least $150 million for Snell or Montgomery.
The White Sox, trying to inject additional talent, seem virtually certain to move Cease, their most valuable trade commodity. They are staying open-minded on the composition of the return and are not necessarily inclined to favor a team that could include major-league-ready pitching, sources said.
The Orioles, possessing the game’s top farm system according to Baseball America’s latest rankings, seemingly are better positioned than the Yankees to make a trade, and almost certainly more inclined to go that route than pay for an expensive free agent.
The Dodgers, even after spending $1 billion this offseason on right-handers Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, are not ruling out the addition of another starter with Ohtani out as a pitcher until 2025, sources said. Neither are the Cardinals, who already have signed free-agent righties Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson for a combined $98 million.
The Red Sox, like the Dodgers, possess a top-five system, and are seeking a top-of-the-rotation starter. The Braves and Reds, two early suitors for Cease, no longer appear in the mix. Both pivoted to other pitchers — the Braves to Chris Sale, the Reds to Nick Martinez and Frankie Montas — rather than meet the White Sox’s price.
Cease, who recently turned 28, is attractive not just because of his relative youth, but also because he is under club control for two more seasons. The American League Cy Young runner-up in 2022, he was less effective last season, his ERA doubling from 2.20 to 4.58. But his talent remains tantalizing.
Even as his ERA ballooned, Cease led the majors in “swords,” a metric created in 2017 by Rob Friedman (better known as “Pitching Ninja”) and recently formalized by MLB.com. Swords essentially are bad swings that result in strikes. Cease produced 44 of his 55 with his slider, baseball’s most valuable pitch in 2022, according to MLB.com.
(Top photo of Dylan Cease: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
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