Baltimore Orioles Not Budging in Potential Blockbuster Trade
The Baltimore Orioles are looking for an ace to bolster their rotation, and they have prospects to spare. The Chicago White Sox have an ace for sale, and they could use some young talent to help with their rebuild.
Both teams have what the other needs. They should be perfect trade partners, but things in baseball are never that simple.
The Orioles have been involved in trade negotiations with the White Sox for much of the offseason, but they've yet to strike a deal. Chicago's Dylan Cease is drawing a ton of interest, and it seems that Baltimore isn't willing to go the extra mile to acquire him.
In his Friday MLB notes column for the New York Post, MLB insider Jon Heyman reports that Cease may not be going anywhere this offseason after all.
"There’s growing belief the White Sox could hold onto Dylan Cease until the trade deadline," Heyman writes. "The Orioles have the best prospects but don’t want to part with top infield prospect Jordan Westburg."
With less than a month until Spring Training starts, Chicago is running out of time to move Cease and may not be able to do so until the trade deadline. Baltimore would be a natural landing spot for him, but GM Mike Elias apparently isn't willing to meet the White Sox's asking price.
It's never easy to part with top prospects, especially ones as good as Westburg. The 24-year-old infielder was a first-round pick in 2020 and played well in his MLB debut last year, slashing .260/.311/.404 with 1.2 WAR in 68 games with the Orioles.
The future looks bright for Westburg, and it's understandable why Baltimore wants to keep him. But sometimes a few eggs need to be broken to make an omelet, and that's what getting Cease would require.
He was the AL Cy Young runner-up in 2022 and has led the league in starts in two of the last three seasons. He's 28, strikes out more than a batter per inning and is still two years away from free agency.
The Orioles already have plenty of good young position players. What they really need is an elite arm who can help get them over the hump in the postseason. If they fall short in the playoffs again this year, they may regret not trading for Cease when they had the chance.
