Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesThe Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox have reportedly "engaged in recent discussions" regarding star pitcher Dylan Cease, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
According to that report, the White Sox's "desired return" is in "the range of these three players, if not them specifically: utility man Ezequiel Durán and pitching prospects Brock Porter and Jack Leiter."
Cease, 28, is an intriguing target for teams like the Rangers for two main reasons.
One, he's very good. He finished the 2023 season with a 7-9 record, 4.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 214 strikeouts in 177 innings, making 33 starts. It was his third straight season with over 200 strikeouts and arguably something of a down year by the standards he's set—his career ERA (3.83) and WHIP (1.30) are better than the marks he posted last season, and he was the AL Cy Young runner-up in 2022.
Two, Cease has two more years of club control and will make just $8 million in the 2024 season before entering arbitration one more time ahead of the 2025 campaign. As Rosenthal noted, that might make him more intriguing than a player like Jordan Montgomery, who remains available in free agency and was a key figure for the Rangers' run to a World Series title last season.
By adding Cease, the team could eventually have a rotation of him, Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle, once the latter three return from injury. Until then, however, the rotation is looking rough.
So it didn't come as a major surprise when Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported on Tuesday that "White Sox scouts have descended in droves upon Rangers camp this week," a clear indication that the two sides were discussing a potential Cease trade.
But he won't come cheap. Porter is the No. 4 prospect in the Rangers' farm system, according to MLB.com's rankings, and the No. 88 overall prospect in baseball. And Leiter is considered the team's No. 8 overall prospect.
So would the Rangers rather give up talented young prospects while maintaining more payroll, or splash the cash on a pitcher like Montgomery while keeping their farm system stocked?
For now, it appears the answer is the former.
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