How the White Sox could benefit from Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s massive Dodgers deal in trade negotiations
Originally published on NBC Sports Chicago, How Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s monster deal with Dodgers could help White Sox in trade talks
It appears that the Los Angeles Dodgers, who once again stunned the baseball world on Thursday night, needed more than one historic, record-breaking offseason contract.
The Dodgers signed 25-year-old Japanese rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract, the richest deal for a pitcher in league history, just ten days after shocking the world by signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract that defers the majority of his salary.
The Dodgers will pay the right-hand pitcher more than $375 million over the course of the next 12 years, in addition to a posting fee of almost $51 million that is owed to Yamamoto’s previous team in Japan, the Orix Buffaloes.
The Dodgers’ extraordinary amount of spending is anticipated to have an impact on how teams manage the offseason across the league, with Los Angeles’ aggressiveness possibly helping the Chicago White Sox as the front office looks to revamp the roster in advance of 2024.
White Sox ace Dylan Cease, who was the subject of many rumors earlier in the offseason, is reportedly being considered by many teams as one of the best pitching options available this offseason, at least in some capacity.
Cease, who turns 28 next week, and teammate Eloy Jiménez were key players in the trade that sent José Quintana to the Chicago Cubs, a rival team across town.
In spite of his obvious tendency to walk batters at a rate far higher than the league average, Cease has become one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game in recent years. In spite of a notable decline in numerous metrics in 2023, Cease completed his third consecutive season with 210 strikeouts or more.
Despite leading MLB in walks, his 2022 campaign saw him finish as the AL Cy Young Award runner-up with 227 strikeouts and a 2.20 ERA.
Cease ticks all the boxes for an incredibly desirable trade target: he has two years of team control, elite strikeout production, ace potential, and a younger age than most pitchers available on the free agent market.
Managing his first offseason as head of the White Sox front office, Chris Getz freely declared that there were no untouchables on the roster, but he also voiced his preference to wait out Yamamoto’s market before engaging in more serious talks about Cease.
The cost of pitchers on the free agent and trade markets has definitely gone up, especially after the Dodgers paid record money for Yamamoto and a hefty price to both acquire and extend Tyler Glasnow.
Two years Cease’s senior, Glasnow had only one year left on his contract with the team when he and Manuel Margot were traded to the Dodgers for outfielder Jonny DeLuca and starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot.
Later, Glasnow agreed to a five-year, over $136.5 million contract extension with the Dodgers.
Getz may be able to secure a higher return for Cease than if he were traded last month thanks to the Dodgers’ historically aggressive early-season play.
The White Sox’s 101-loss 2023 campaign left them near the bottom of the league in several important offensive and defensive metrics. This indicates that the South Siders can return to relevance in a weak division more quickly by making high-impact trades that can address multiple organizational needs at once.
Teams in need will be more motivated to act if Cease is dealt by the White Sox, even though there is no 100% guarantee that he will. The market has already seen quality options like Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jack Flaherty, Kenta Maeda, and Aaron Nola leave the game.
The majority of the high-impact free agent pitchers have already signed contracts, but Blake Snell, the current Cy Young Award winner, and other options like Jordan Montgomery and Shota Imanaga are still available.
This is good news for the Cleveland Guardians, who are reportedly in talks with other teams regarding former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, as well as the White Sox, who can now probably demand a higher price for Cease.
Although there are no guarantees for the league as a whole as a result of Yamamoto’s signing with the Dodgers, it is evident that the market for starting pitchers has probably moved more quickly than most people have realized, which could raise the cost of the remaining options.
