Cardinals Eyeing White Sox Star As Possible Offseason Blockbuster Trade Candidate
The St. Louis Cardinals could see its starting rotation greatly improve this offseason.
The 2023 season was a struggle from St. Louis seemingly from Opening Day. St. Louis entered the 2023 campaign with question marks swirling around its starting rotation and they never got answered. The Cardinals' rotation struggled and the club eventually traded away Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty.
St. Louis has plenty of work to do this offseason and so far the club has been linked to seemingly every big-name pitcher who could end up being available. One starter who could be an intriguing trade candidate is Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.
"That doesn’t say a whole lot for what the White Sox have to offer from their major-league roster in terms of trade options," Goold said. "But there is the obvious fit for the Cardinals, one has drawn at least some interest from them before Dylan Cease. The right-handed starter finished runner-up for the (American League) Cy Young Award in 2022 – just behind winner Justin Verlander and ahead of the aforementioned (Alek Manoah). Cease led the group of Cy Young vote-getters with a 6.4 Wins Above Replacement to go with a 2.20 ERA in 184 innings. He struck out 180. This past season he went 7-9 in 33 starters and had a 4.58 ERA with a 10.9 K/9 rate."
Cease has been mentioned as a fit for the Cardinals before and a move certainly would make sense. He had a down year in 2023, but is just 27 years old and has a career 3.83 ERA in five seasons. Plus, he won't be a free agent until the 2026 season. He compiled a 2.20 ERA in 32 starts in 2022 and if he can return to that level of play, would be a perfect addition for St. Louis.
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