White Sox leave 1 name off the trading block and it’s not Dylan Cease: reports
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White Sox leave 1 name off the trading block and it’s not Dylan Cease: reports originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The White Sox are open to hearing trades for anyone on the roster, except Luis Robert Jr., reports 670 the Score’s Bruce Levine hours before the MLB trade deadline.
Adding detail to the report, Jon Heyman, and Levine, reported the asking price for Dylan Cease, who’s the most notable player not named Luis Robert Jr. without protection, would be rightfully “enormous.”
The White Sox are in the midst of a sale. They’ve already traded Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Reynaldo Lopez, Joe Kelly, and Kendall Graveman, receiving a flurry of prospects in return.
Cease, outside of Robert Jr., represents the team’s most valuable player. One season ago, Cease finished runner-up in the AL Cy Young voting solely behind Justin Verlander. He held a blistering 2.20 ERA and struck out an unthinkable 227 batters.
Teams understand the value Cease holds, too. Cease, 27, still has two more seasons of arbitration before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2026. He’s earning $5.7 million this season with the White Sox.
He’s not performing his best this season, however. Through 22 starts and 119.1 innings, he’s holding onto a 4.15 ERA and 1.341 WHIP. He’s struck out 143 batters, yet walked 49 batters. His command has been an issue and a pitfall to last and this year’s respective outings.
Though, Cease’s underwhelming season has not deterred teams from showing insurmountable interest in him.
But the White Sox have shut the door on any and all offers for Cease, up until this point.
Bob Nightengale reported a week ago all interested suitors have been similarly declined. Jeff Passan wrote the White Sox “could” trade Cease, but it would be more likely if the White Sox went “full punt” mode.
Despite opposing interests, it doesn’t seem likely the White Sox would be willing to sell Cease. Unless the front office receives an offer written in gold, he’ll likely remain on the South Side.
That doesn’t mean the White Sox will pack it up and call it a day. There’s work left to be done.
For starters, if they’re looking to trade expiring contracts — something general manager Rick Hahn mentioned worth doing — they have a few left on the docket.
“Unfortunately the ’23 season isn’t working out the way we wanted,” Hahn said Wednesday after trading Giolito. “So I think it makes prudent business and strategic sense to add future assets for those becoming free agents.”
Yasmani Grandal, Keynan Middleton, Mike Clevinger and Elvis Andrus will be free agents after this season. Be on the lookout for any of these names to be moved before the clock strikes.
The MLB trade deadline ends at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
Stay tuned.
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