Cubs Should Think Twice About Dylan Cease Free Agency Pursuit

The Chicago Cubs should think long and hard about whether to pursue Dylan Cease this winter.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) | David Frerker-Imagn Images

On October 25, Chicago’s 670 AM sports radio host Bruce Levine made a strong claim about the Chicago Cubs' potential interest in pursuing veteran hurler Dylan Cease in free agency this offseason.

"According to several MLB insiders I know, people in the know in other organizations, they feel the Cubs will be there among the top suitors for Dylan Cease," Levine said in the podcast episode. He then added, "I would say it's highly likely — like, for sure — that he's going to be looked at by the Cubs, and continue to be pursued."

This sentiment shouldn't come as a surprise. Cease is inarguably one of the top five free agent starting pitchers available this offseason, and every team that would be keen to bolster their starting staff (which should be all 30 clubs) would be wise to at least check in on Cease and see what they might be able to acquire him for. And the Cubs are no exception to this.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease | David Frerker-Imagn Images

However, while Cease has been one of the most durable starters in all of baseball over the past several seasons, he's also among the most unpredictable. This is why the Cubs would be wise to think hard about potentially signing him in free agency, along with how much they might want to offer him.

Why Cubs Pursuing Dylan Cease Could Come With a Risk

As noted, durability is perhaps Cease's best asset. He has made 32 or 33 starts in every single regular season since 2021, which means that he has essentially not missed a single start during that entire time. He also has the seventh-most innings pitched (884) since the 2021 season.

What's more, Cease is a strikeout machine. He has tallied at least 214 punchouts every year since 2021, and his 215 during the 2025 regular season was sixth-most in MLB.

Dylan Cease now has 5 consecutive 200-strikeout seasons. pic.twitter.com/SPAW3h0Sug

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 23, 2025

Strikeouts and innings pitched aside, there's a case to be made that Cease is among the more overrated starters. His 4.55 ERA in 2025 was below average. He produced a respectable 3.47 ERA in 2024 and struggled in 2023, posting a 4.58 ERA that year.

In other words, Cease has been mediocre in two of the past three seasons. His last elite campaign came in 2022, when he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA for the Chicago White Sox and earned AL Cy Young Award votes.

That 2022 season is the first thing many think of when considering Cease's ceiling. And while that's fair, 2022 was also four seasons ago. He hasn't been that elite of a pitcher for a long time.

The Cubs should be involved in the SP market this winter.

Potential fits
Framber Valdez - 3.66 ERA, 192 IP
Ranger Suárez - 3.20 ERA, 157.1 IP
Dylan Cease - 4.55 ERA, 168.0 IP
Tatsuya Imai - 1.92 ERA, 163.2 IP (NPB)
Zac Gallen - 4.83 ERA, 192.0 IP
Michael King - 3.44 ERA, 73.1 IP pic.twitter.com/bugajStTTu

— The Wrigley Wire (@TheWrigleyWire) October 28, 2025

So, Should Cubs Try to Sign Dylan Cease?

This is not to suggest that Chicago should ditch the Dylan Cease sweepstakes entirely. Rather, they'd be wise to not overpay a guy who still has a lot to prove when it comes to being an MLB rotation's ace.

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