The Major League Baseball hot stove is beginning to sizzle. With Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and Juan Soto off the board to their new destinations, expect more movement from MLB's biggest stars in the days to come. One of the next stars that could be on the move in a trade is Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox. Cease's 2023 season was not exactly one someone would consider star caliber: he ended the season with a 7-9 record, a 4.58 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, and a 2.7 strikeout per walk ratio. But Cease's 2022 season certainly did qualify as star material. He posted a 2.20 ERA and a 1.1 WHIP en route to a 14-8 record and a second-place finish in the AL Cy Young voting.

But the White Sox didn't qualify for the playoffs in 2022 and were very far from it in 2023. The White Sox were sellers at the trade deadline, where they dished Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, and Joe Kelly, among others. Cease's name was floated in trade talks at the deadline, but nothing materialized. Now he's been mentioned in trade rumors yet again, with teams like the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves being regarded as the most likely destinations to acquire Cease.

The Baltimore Orioles would be a fascinating destination for Cease. They took the league by storm last season and won 101 games despite being one of the youngest teams in the sport. Cease would be a tremendous help for the Orioles. The questions becomes: what is a Dylan Cease trade the Orioles can offer that would make sense for both them and the White Sox?

Dylan Cease Orioles-White Sox trade

The Chicago White Sox trade Dylan Cease to the Baltimore Orioles for Joey Ortiz, Kyle Stowers, Justin Armbruester, Trace Bright, and Jud Fabian

Why the Orioles do this trade

Baltimore does this trade because they really need starting pitching. The Orioles had a great bullpen in 2023, but their starting pitchers did not hold up their end of the bargain.

There were six Orioles who made at least 10 starts and pitched at least 70 innings in 2023; only two of them (Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells) posted an ERA below four. Bradish was the only one of the bunch to post an ERA below three. Bradish did post a 1.04 WHIP and Wells exceeded him in that stat with a 0.99 WHIP, but no other Orioles starter was below a 1.28 WHIP. That's a big reason why the Orioles ranked 12th in the MLB in opponents' batting average (.242) and 13th in strikeouts (1,431).

The Orioles fared pretty well in most pitching statistics last season, but their shortcomings with their starting rotation showed up in the playoffs. Baltimore was able to keep the Texas Rangers at bay in Game 1 of their series against the eventual champions, but got blown out in their next two outings. And both of those games got out of hand early.

Grayson Rodriguez gave up five earned runs in less than two innings in Game 2 of that series, while Dean Kremer allowed six earned runs in less than two innings in the decisive Game 3. They have to improve their rotation. Though Cease's 2023 wasn't much to write home about, he would be the huge improvement the Orioles desperately need.

Why the White Sox do this trade

If Chicago is actually going to trade Dylan Cease, they're going to have to fetch significant prospects in quality and quantity. Luckily, the Orioles have them in both categories.

Bleacher Report named the Orioles' farm system as the best in the sport, so if prospects are what the White Sox want, Baltimore is the right place to look. Almost every player involved in this deal is ranked inside of Baseball America's Top 100 prospect rankings.

Joey Ortiz, a second baseman, is ranked 95th in their rankings and has posted robust slashing lines (.286/.357/.449/.806) during his minor league career. Kyle Stowers was a former second-round pick from Stanford University. He's only appeared in 48 games in the majors, but he also lit up the minor leagues with slashing lines of .264/.363/.506/.869 to go with 73 home runs and 244 RBI across four seasons. Jud Fabian is not as far down in his development as Ortiz and Stowers are, but he showed plenty of promise in A+ this season, where he hit .281/.392/.490/.882 across 56 games.

Justin Armbruester could end up being the prize of this trade. In three seasons in the minors, Armbruester has posted a 3.63 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, a 9.1 strikeout per nine innings ratio, and a 2.76 strikeout per walk ratio. He has plenty of tools to develop. The Orioles surely would love to keep developing him, but would also probably take the sure thing in Dylan Cease now. Chicago would love to keep him, but this is a great haul of prospects they'd be bringing in.