With Dylan Cease’s outrageous asking price, the Phillies will be happy that they signed Nola already.
With the conclusion of the Winter Meetings, the MLB offseason free agent and trade markets are beginning to move. As the asking prices begin to surface, more names are being formally connected to teams.
After Aaron Nola re-signed, the Philadelphia Phillies are still in the market for a starting pitcher, though it’s not their top priority. According to Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, stated as much this week in Nashville.
When asked about starting pitching, Dombrowski responded, “It’s not that it’s not on our agenda.” “Yes, I hope we can add more, but I have the list of names and everything.”
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox is one pitcher whose name has been mentioned frequently in trade rumors throughout the league. Nevertheless, the recently disclosed asking price for the 27-year-old is currently set so high that the Phillies should not even consider calling Sox general manager Chris Getz.
The White Sox asked the Cincinnati Reds for four top prospects, including their No. 2 prospect, right-hand pitcher Rhett Lowder, and their No. 6 prospect, another right-hander, Chase Petty, according to Bruce Levine, an analyst for WSCR-AM and 670 The Score in Chicago.
Chicago also requested the Reds’ ninth- and eleventh-ranked position prospects, outfielder Jay Allen II at No. 17 and catcher Alfredo Duno at No. 13, respectively.
The cause of the expensive price? With a very appealing projected salary of $8.8 million in 2024, Cease, who is eligible for arbitration, will remain under team control for two more seasons. Furthermore, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, Getz and the White Sox aren’t under any tremendous pressure to trade their best starter right away as they wait for the market to open up.
To put that asking price in perspective for the Phillies, it would be equivalent to Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld having to send out right-handed pitchers Griff McGarry, ranked No. 5, and Mick Abel, ranked No. 2. Caleb Ricketts, their No. 15 prospect, and perhaps an outfield prospect like Emaarion Boyd (No. 12), Ethan Wilson (No. 16), or perhaps Devin Saltiban (No. 18) would also need to be added.
You get the idea, though it’s obviously not an apples-to-apples comparison, since Chicago may see the Phillies’ assets differently than they do the Reds’ prospects.
A starter who consistently struggles to find the zone and walks a lot—despite having a stellar 2022 season, a career 10.83 K/9, and a 28.1 percent strikeout rate—would have to pay a hefty price.
The right-hander led the Majors in free passes with 78 in his Cy Young-caliber season last year, matching his total from the shortened 2020 campaign of 34. His career walk rate is 10.4% and his BB/9 is 4.02.
The Phillies are probably relieved that they were able to lock up Nola for an additional seven years and guarantee the top of the rotation for the 2024 campaign, as they scour the early offseason trade market for the best starters like Cease.
