For the second time in as many years, Dylan Cease’s name has popped up in trade rumors. According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, the Minnesota Twins are among the teams interested in acquiring Dylan Cease.
After falling four games shy of a playoff spot last season, the Twins’ interest in Cease is not surprising. Last season, their starting rotation ranked 12th in the MLB with 62 quality starts. While this was above the MLB average, it still wasn’t good enough to propel them to a division title. Their current rotation includes Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, and Chris Paddack. Paddack has been plagued with elbow issues, making Cease a significant upgrade for the rotation.
The former White Sox right-hander was dealt to the Padres last March for right-handed prospects Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, outfield prospect Samuel Zavala and 29-year-old reliever Steven Wilson. Cease had a solid season in San Diego, posting a 3.47 ERA with a 29.4 percent strikeout rate and a no-hitter. Those numbers were good enough for him to finish fourth in the Cy Young Voting.
He is owed $13.75 million this year, making him a great value given the current starting pitching market. Cease has made 32-plus starts in each of the last four seasons with his 716 innings being the seventh most in the MLB during that stretch. His 17.2 wins above replacement is also the sixth-highest in the majors.
Much of that success came in a White Sox uniform. In five seasons on the South Side Cease owned a career 11.8 WAR and 3.83 ERA. He finished runner-up in the 2022 Cy Young voting after posting a 2.20 ERA and a career-high 227 strikeouts. He also ranked inside the MLB’s top ten in strikeouts during his final three seasons in Chicago.
Because of this, having him return to 35th and Shields in a Twins uniform would be a tough pill to swallow for White Sox fans.
