Baltimore Orioles Top Target Likely Getting Taken Off Market
The Baltimore Orioles' top trade target, Dylan Cease, seems to be off the market.
According to Scott Merkin of MLB.com, Pedro Grifol, the Chicago White Sox manager, has named Cease as the Opening Day starting pitcher. This doesn't come as much of a surprise given recent reports, but this all but confirms those reports.
Cease was the top available arm remaining on the market, and unless they decide to sign Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, the Orioles look to enter the 2024 season without a true ace.
Coming into the offseason, Baltimore's biggest need was an ace-caliber starting pitcher. Instead, their current rotation lost 191 innings from Kyle Gibson and will be leaning on largely the same staff from last year.
The Orioles' offseason, at this rate, has been somewhat disappointing.
It's tough to say that an organization filled with young talent should go out and make a huge move, but Cease is the ideal addition for them. He still has two years of club control and just turned 28 years old.
Baltimore will likely have a chance to add Cease at the deadline if the White Sox are still looking to sell assets.
Unless he has a bad start to the season, the asking price will still be high and more teams will be in the market for an ace-caliber pitcher with him presumed to be the top arm available.
If one team has enough to get a deal done for any player in baseball, it's the Orioles. The organization arguably has the best farm system in MLB history and at some point, they need to trade prospects for MLB talent.
Cease was, and will continue to be, someone they should move those prospects for.
