Mets expressing interest in trading for Dylan Cease: report
The Mets have expressed interest in trading for White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease as they look to add to a rotation in serious need of reinforcements, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post.
According to The Post, the Mets "are among the teams that continue to check in on" Cease.
The White Sox, in full rebuild mode, said last month at the Winter Meetings that they were open for business.
Cease, who is entering his age-28 season, is under team control through 2025. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2022 after a strong 2021 campaign, but regressed in 2023 while posting a 4.58 ERA.
A look at Cease's advanced stats from last season show that he remained elite when it came to his whiff rate, strikeout rate, and ability to prevent hitters from barreling the ball up -- so he could be due for a nice bounce back in 2024.
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has been open about his reluctance to trade any of the team's most valued prospects for rental players this offseason. But since Cease has two years of team control remaining, he's in a bit of a different category.
Chicago has reportedly put a very high price on Cease, which is understandable given his age, affordability (he's set to earn a shade over $8 million this season via arbitration), years of team control remaining, and the dearth of high-end starting pitchers on the market.
Aside from Cease and Blake Snell -- who has two Cy Young awards under his belt but comes with a host of red flags -- there is not another starting pitcher on the free agent or trade market who has ace upside.
In addition to the Mets, the Yankees and Orioles are among the teams that have been linked to Cease.
The Mets' starting rotation right now consists of Kodai Senga, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, and Adrian Houser.
Of those four pitchers, only Senga is under contract beyond 2024.
