Trade talk surrounding Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease has quieted in recent weeks, but it's not due to lack of interest. General manager Chris Getz said there "isn't a club out there that hasn't expressed some level of interest" in the 28-year-old hurler. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal said the White Sox could be waiting for the few remaining big names on the free-agent market to come off the board to drive up demand for Cease among teams who miss out on the likes of Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Marcus Stroman. Chicago's reported demand is high, as they're reportedly seeking multiple high-end prospects and some "fill-ins" in return. Both Rosenthal and ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers indicated that the Baltimore Orioles could be the strongest contender for Cease because of their deep farm system, which features six players ranked in MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospects.

The Pittsburgh Pirates believe right-handed pitching prospect Paul Skenes would benefit from more development in the minor leagues and that he's not ready for the majors yet, even though he's already better than everyone in their system, according to sources. The Pirates need him to be their long-term ace, so it wouldn't be wise for them to start his service-time clock early in 2024. The Athletic's Jim Bowden thinks Skenes will be a September call-up and a full-time starter in 2025. The 21-year-old was the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft and was voted the best pitching prospect in baseball by front-office executives from all 30 teams. He checked all the boxes in just 6 2/3 minor-league innings last year and is the best pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg. If he dominates the minors early in 2024, the Pirates may have no choice but to bring him up sooner than later.

The New York Mets' new front office has indicated a desire for first baseman Pete Alonso to finish out his career with the team, and Alonso has told teammates that his preference is to spend the rest of his career with the Mets. However, his agent, Scott Boras, has a long history of taking his clients to free agency when they get this close (next winter for Alonso) because that's usually where they'll land the best deal. The Mets have listened when teams have called about him, but they've never seriously considered trading him -- at least not yet. New York could re-evaluate the situation with Alonso at the trade deadline this summer, but the most likely outcome is they'll keep him through the 2024 season and then be willing to match the best offer he gets on the open market. The 29-year-old slugger had a career-low .217 batting average in 2023, but he also ranked third in home runs with 46 and second in RBI (118) in all of baseball.

The Athletic's Jim Bowden doesn't think the New York Mets are suitors for Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease this offseason because their new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, wants to be able to see the team's prospects for himself in spring training and wants to build the organization through scouting and player development, and to make a trade of this magnitude would set that process back. If the White Sox even approached the Mets about a trade, they'd likely be after some of the Mets' top prospects in Luisangel Acuna, Kevin Parada, Drew Gilbert, Jett Williams and Mike Vasil, potentially among others. Cease has two years of club control remaining and Cy Young-winning upside if he can put everything together in 2024.

The Pittsburgh Pirates avoided salary arbitration with right-hander JT Brubaker on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year, $2.275 million deal, according to a source. Brubaker won't receive any kind of raise after missing all of the 2023 season following his Tommy John surgery in April. The 30-year-old said his goal this year is to return to the Pirates around the All-Star break. He made a career-high 28 starts for Pittsburgh in 2022 and went 3-12 with a 4.69 ERA (3.92 FIP) and 1.46 WHIP with 54 walks and 147 strikeouts in 144 innings pitched. Brubaker really hasn't been much of a fantasy asset at all in his three big-league seasons, posting a 4.99 ERA (4.43 FIP) and 1.38 WHIP with a 23.3 percent strikeout rate over 315 2/3 innings over 63 outings (61 starts).