As the Chicago White Sox field calls for ace starting pitcher Dylan Cease, they may not be as eager to trade him as teams want them to be. White Sox general manager Chris Getz is telling teams that he will wait to move Cease until some of the top pitchers in free agency have signed, sources tell Ken Rosenthal.

There are obvious advantages to waiting for the White Sox. The market could shift considerably in their favor if contending teams looking for starting pitching miss out on the top free agents. As Rosenthal points out, several teams need multiple starting pitchers, so even signing a free agent arm or two won't push those franchises out of the way in the path for Cease.

Outside of Shohei Ohtani, starting pitching is at the center of the open market. Top-end talents like Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray have already landed deals, but names like Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw remain unsigned as Winter Meetings approach.

The White Sox seem to hold all the advantages in a deal for Cease. He has two years of team control left, perhaps making him more coveted than other aces on the trade block who are set to become free agents next offseason. Those two years also give Chicago an incentive to ask for more from interested teams.

This could all be for naught for Getz and the White Sox are blown away by an offer before more pitcher signings. Chicago is showing its hand though and it may just work out in their favor.