The defending National League East champion Atlanta Braves have been looking for some of the best pitchers available this winter, both in free agency and through trades.
Atlanta missed out on signing Aaron Nola before he signed a lucrative long-term deal with the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Sonny Gray, the American League Cy Young runner-up, was also linked to the Braves before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals.
After missing out on those two, it appears that general manager Alex Anthopoulos is turning his attention to the trade market.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Atlanta is one of several teams in negotiations with the Chicago White Sox for ace pitcher Dylan Cease. Nightengale mentioned the Los Angeles Dodgers as another potential suitor, which comes as no surprise. We had previously reported on this.
Dylan Cease (2023) stats: 7-9 record, 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP
Cease is coming off a down season for Chicago, as shown above. Cease, who will be 28 years old this season, finished second in the American League Cy Young voting in 2022. In that season, he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. In 184 innings of work, he also struck out 227 batters.
As previously stated, Atlanta has been looking for a starting pitcher all offseason. Charlie Morton was re-signed by the team. However, he is currently a bottom-of-the-rotation starter.
Last season, the Braves finished in the middle of the pack with a 4.14 team ERA. Spencer Strider (281 strikeouts) was unstoppable. Bryce Elder (12-4 record, 3.81 ERA) was also very good. Meanwhile, in 14 starts, Max Fried went 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA.
After losing to Philadelphia in the National League Divisional Series, Atlanta should look to add another top arm to the mix.
The question here is a possible return to Chicago in a trade. According to reports, the White Sox are listening to everyone on their roster. However, Atlanta will not be cheap in acquiring Cease.
The right-hander is in his second year of arbitration and is set to make $8.3 million. He’ll also be under team control in 2025. Controllable pitchers who are just entering their prime sell for a good price on the trade market.
Pitcher Hurston Waldrep, who is currently ranked second among Braves prospects, would be a likely target for the White Sox.
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