Dylan Cease's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings
Player profile
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HT/WT6' 2'' , 200 lbs
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Birthdate12/28/1995 (29)
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Draft InfoUndrafted
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StatusInactive
The Seattle Mariners have shown interest in trading for Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease. The 28-year-old is set to make eight million dollars this year and is poised to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. After excellent 2021 and 2022 seasons, Cease regressed and had an average performance in 2023 with a 4.07 expected ERA and 1.42 walks and hits per inning pitched. The Mariners had one of the best rotations a year ago, led by Luis Castillo, George Kirby, and Logan Gilbert, while youngster Bryan Woo showed flashes. If Cease could return to his old form, he would further bolster one of the league's better rotations.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is believed to be staying put for now despite several teams interested in acquiring the right-hander. The White Sox have reportedly put a high price on the 2022 AL Cy Young runner-up but rival clubs have yet to pony up to the current asking price. As a result, the club is likelier to hold onto Cease into the regular season and see if their price is met prior to the trade deadline. While the 28-year-old tossed a 2.20 ERA in 2022, he slipped to a 4.58 mark across 33 starts in the 2023 season while seeing regression in walk rate, strikeout rate, ground-ball rate, and home run rate. In 123 career starts across parts of five big-league seasons, Cease sports a 3.83 ERA alongside a 17.7% K-BB% in 658 innings pitched, making at least 32 starts in each of the last three seasons.
Right-hander Dylan Cease and the Chicago White Sox settled at $8 million for the 2024 season to avoid salary arbitration on Thursday, according to sources. Cease finished second in the American League Cy Young voting in 2022 by going 14-8 with a career-best 2.20 ERA (3.10 FIP) and 1.11 WHIP with a league-high 78 walks and career-high 227 strikeouts over 32 starts (career-high 184 innings). He took a big step back in 2023, though, with a 4.58 ERA (3.72 FIP) and 1.42 WHIP with 79 walks and 214 K's in 33 starts (177 innings). The 28-year-old is widely expected to be traded, at least by this summer's deadline, and he's extremely attractive to other clubs given his nasty stuff and high strikeout rate, not to mention two more years of club control. Cease is an attractive bounce-back candidate in 2024, especially if he's dealt to a contender.
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 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.