Trade rumors surrounding Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease have recently picked up again after a few weeks-long stall.
While some may believe the Boston Red Sox should be contenders for an exchange, the front office has shown no willingness to trade prospects, and the White Sox have been making some steep demands.
But Boston's chief rival, the New York Yankees, were expecting to have a huge season until Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge injury rumors derailed their plans, for now. In the wake of the news, they've approached Chicago about a trade for Cease again, but they aren't the only ones.
The San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers are also in on Cease. The Padres had a rough season last year even after spending an excess of money and the Rangers are coming off a World Series victory, but the loss of Jordan Montgomery — both teams have a decent case for needing Cease themselves.
White Sox scouts have assessed both of the clubs to get a look at their exchange options and it's going to take a lot to meet the ChiSox's demands. Some example trade packages for Texas from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic include Ezequiel Durán and prospects Jack Leiter and Brock Porter. If Rosenthal's proposal is anything like what the White Sox have been requesting, the Rangers are going to have a lot of thinking to do before anything gets done.
Red Sox rival Yankees trade proposal for Dylan Cease does not contain Spencer Jones
Where will Dylan Cease end up? 👀 https://t.co/jpCbegAzcw pic.twitter.com/T5PLDJ1YdG
— theScore (@theScore) March 13, 2024
But they have good reason to try and meet those harsh demands. The Rangers have three starters out of commission until late in the season in Jacob DeGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle. Adding Cease to that crowd would make Texas' rotation as fearsome as its batting order.
The Yankees have shown reluctance to meet the White Sox's trade expectations. New York's latest offer, much like its last, does not feature top prospect Spencer Jones. Without him, the Yankees will get nowhere in their attempts to make a deal based on what Chicago has been asking for.
Cole's MRI results are not yet official and the Yankees are seeking additional opinions on his scans. No matter the result, though, he won't be ready for Opening Day, but that doesn't mean his season is over. Potentially having Cole back later in the season doesn't incentivize the Yankees to take risks with their prospect pool, especially the Judge-esque potential of Jones.
So without Jones, or the even less likely choice of Jasson Dominguez, Red Sox fans can take solace in the fact that Cease likely won't be a Yankee any time soon. There's also next to no chance he'll be a Red Sox, but it's nice to know the Yankees won't be improving, either.