According to MLBTradeRumors.com, the Rangers have heated up trade talks with the White Sox over twenty-eight-year-old righthanded pitcher Dylan Cease.  

He’s coming off a down 2023 after a very strong 2022 in which he posted a 2.20 ERA with 227 strikeouts in 184 innings, and a remarkable 180 ERA+, meaning he was nearly twice as good as the major league average pitcher.

Last year he stumbled to a 4.58 ERA, his highest since his rookie year in 2019. He did lead the league with thirty-three starts, and also with fourteen wild pitches.  His ERA+ dropped almost in half, to 97, which means he was three percent worse than major league average. Martin Perez’s, by comparison, was 100, and that was the lowest of any Rangers starter other than Cody Bradford.

The White Sox are reportedly asking a king’s ransom for Cease based on his 2022. They are, however, conveniently overlooking his 4.01 ERA in 2020 and his 3.91 ERA in 2021. 

At least the Rangers are acknowledging they need starting pitching depth. 

As MLBTradeRumors says of the Rangers top four (Eovaldi, Gray, Heaney, Dunning), “If healthy, that’s still a solid front four. Yet there’s a fair amount of injury risk with much of that group. Eovaldi has twice undergone Tommy John surgery in his career. Gray has been on the injured list four times in his two seasons as a Ranger. Heaney was healthy last season but lost a good chunk of 2022 to shoulder problems. Even Dunning has a Tommy John surgery in his history, although he has been durable and quite effective for the last three seasons.”

What makes Cease most attractive to the Rangers is that he is due to make $8 million in 2024, which is much less than what Jordan Montgomery would command as a free agent. 

Opening Day is about fifteen days away. The Rangers have a bit of time to find another starter. Even if it’s early April. The fact is, they need at least one more bonafide starter.

Cease would fit the bill.

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