Dylan Cease Trade Update: Insider reveals one of the 'most aggressive' teams eying White Sox starter

A lot of teams are seemingly in hot pursuit of Dylan Cease. The Los Angeles Dodgers have emerged as the most aggressive of the lot as they look to land the young Chicago White Sox starting pitcher.

There are many reasons for Cease's potential availability, as the 28 year old starter has two years of club control in his contract. Furthermore, he's expected to earn just $8.8 million in 2024, making him an affordable selection.

Most importantly, his trade has a lot to do with White Sox's mentality, as with a new GM in charge they will look to chop and change things. Cease is also a ready-made starter and has enough MLB experience.

The starter came second in the 2022 AL Cy Young race with an ERA of 2.20 and 227 strikeouts. However, he was unable to continue his form through 2023, stumbling with a poor ERA of 4.58. He had a considerable dip in his strikeout rate, which was just above 26%, and his fastball velocity decreased to less than 96 mph from near the 97 mph mark.

Nevertheless, as per stat projections since 2021, he has had a 4.2 WAR each season. That has made him a prime target for teams like the Dodgers who are in desperate need of a decent starting rotation. As per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they are the frontrunners to land Cease.

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Dylan Cease could boost the Dodgers' rotation

The LA Dodgers starting rotation has never looked as weak in their 10 years of dominance in the NL West.

Veteran starter Clayton Kershaw is in free agency, with returnee Walker Buehler being their primary ace. Behind him are a number of young starters like Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove.

Hence, Dylan Cease's addition would be a big boost to their rotation's overall experience.