The New York Yankees are reportedly interested in trading for Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease amid Gerrit Cole's recent injury concern. The Yankees are not the only team interested, though. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Cease is drawing interest from the Texas Rangers, who will be without Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle to open the season.
Rosenthal reports that the Rangers and White Sox “engaged in recent discussions,” according to his sources. MLB Network's Jon Morosi echoed this reporting and also named the San Diego Padres as another team “involved in talks.”
Of course, MLB free agency may still play a role in all of this.
Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain available. The Yankees were instantly linked to Snell once news broke of Cole's injury. However, Cole's MRI results still have yet to be revealed. Those results will impact the Yankees' possible pursuits of Cease and Snell.
Montgomery pitched for the Rangers in 2023 after getting traded to Texas before the deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals. The big left-hander was impressive for the Rangers to finish the campaign, and a reunion makes sense for both sides.
But the fact is that Montgomery remains unsigned in MLB free agency with Texas unwilling to pay up. The Rangers are seemingly open to adding another pitcher. With Dylan Cease potentially available in talks, albeit for a steep asking price, Texas is reportedly inquiring at the very least.
Will the Rangers trade for Dylan Cease?
Cease was phenomenal in 2022 before struggling in 2023. He features some of the most intriguing upside in the sport and has two years of team control remaining on his contract, which is why the White Sox are asking for so much.
Teams may be hesitant to deal away top prospects for a pitcher who recorded a 4.58 ERA while dealing with command issues on the mound in 2023. With that being said, teams in need of pitching also understand what Cease's immense ceiling can be, and he's a cheaper option salary-wise than Montgomery or Snell.
The Rangers, Yankees, and other interested ball clubs like the Padres will need to decide how interested they truly are in Cease. If they opt to go all in, a trade could come to fruition before Opening Day.
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