Where Will Free Agent Dylan Cease End Up?

Dylan Cease was a sixth-round pick for the Chicago Cubs back in 2014. Later in his career, he went across town to the Chicago White Sox in 2017, when the Cubs and White Sox were involved in a 5-player trade. Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease both went to the White Sox in hopes they would thrive. These two eventually became some of the stars of the team, showing their worth. Now, the White Sox want to rebuild after having a playoff appearance in 2021, but losing in the divisional round against the Houston Astros.

Courtesy of the Chicago White Sox

Cease has greatly impacted the White Sox with a 3.83 career ERA. 2023 was not able to be as great as Cease's 2022 season. In 2023 he had an ERA of 4.58. Many analytics teams had initially anticipated a replication of his successful 2022 season. In 2023, there were notable concerns about Dylan's performance, particularly in his pitching velocity, which had experienced a significant decline compared to the previous year. However, the extent of this regression is reflected in a 4.91 ERA for the entire 2023 season and a career-works. Dylan Cease is a guy at fastball plus at the end of the day, and will likely give you 30 starts for the season.  However, you should also note the White Sox defense being one of the worst in the league, which has not helped Cease as a player at all. 

Courtesy of the Chicago White Sox

After the year Cease had, the White Sox were drawn to the idea of trading him for alternate prospects, or bigger pieces valuable to their rebuild. The Los Angeles Dodgers were the most interested in Dylan Cease, but interest slowly decreased after signing Shoei Ohtani. With the acquisition of some major pieces for their rotation, including Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, their interest in Cease diminished. 

With the LA Dodgers out of the picture, fans are curious to see where Cease will end up. What team will be ideal for Cease to pitch for, and what are the White Sox looking for in Cease if he stays? Several teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets have all shown interest in acquiring Cease. As of now, the Orioles are considered the frontrunners to secure Cease. However, it's worth noting that the Orioles have been hesitant to part with some of their more promising prospects in previous negotiations.

Cease has the potential to be an outstanding player and is on the radar of plenty of teams in the league. With many trade rumors circulating, fans must wait and see where this young pitcher will end up. 

Edited by: Jessi Dworkin

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