All roads lead to Boston, at least for Dylan Cease it seems. Even though the Chicago White Sox and Cease avoided the arbitration by agreeing on a $8 million salary, his trade is still looking like an obvious route for the Chi-Sox. With only two years remaining in Cease’s contract, the White Sox have made some very strong demands and there’s one team that looks likely to meet them – the Boston Red Sox.
When the Red Sox signed Lucas Giolito, it looked like they had momentarily solved their pitching problems. Then the team traded Chris Sale and they were back to square one. But all’s well that ends well, that can be the case for the Sox if they end up acquiring Dylan Cease. This connection screams perfection and the reasons for it are pretty simple.
The perfect connection between the Boston Red Sox and Dylan Cease
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Southside Showdown recently argued why Cease and Red Sox make for a perfect couple. It’s because both the team and the player will prove to be mutually beneficial to each other. Both of them are coming off of disappointing performances – the Sox finished last in the AL East while Cease’s form took a nosedive in 2023.
As a result, by acquiring Cease the Red Sox can return strongly in 2024 with a change of scenery that can be beneficial for the ace. Also, this would mean reuniting with his old teammate and friend Lucas Giolito. Apart from this, however, there’s one more reason why the Red Sox is perfect for Cease – there’s space for him.
Unlike other teams, the Red Sox currently have an open starting rotation. Their pitching staff is not quite as star-studded as the rest of the league. This could be beneficial for Cease who’d immediately slide into the top two roles without much competition. The pitcher is only two years away from free agency, so it becomes crucial for him to play as much as possible to increase his value. The Red Sox are the ones who can give him that opportunity.
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But things are far from guaranteed for now. The Red Sox have options and the White Sox have a big demand.
BoSox’s options and White Sox’s demands
Reports have indicated that the White Sox want multiple premium prospects in exchange for Dylan Cease. The team is quite strict in its stance with ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reporting that they rejected the Atlanta Braves’ offer that included Vaughn Grissom because the White Sox deemed it too less for Cease.
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Simultaneously, the Red Sox can go for Cleveland Guardians’ Shane Bieber. The 2020 Cy Young winner is available in the trade market and would be a decent addition to their lineup. So with both teams not being desperate for a deal, the Cease/Red Sox connection is currently in a wait-and-watch stage.