Braves reportedly involved in trade talks for White Sox starter Dylan Cease

Atlanta is apparently looking to the trade market to get their next frontline starter, as free agent starting pitcher targets Aaron Nola (Phillies) and Sonny Gray (Cardinals) are no longer available.

The Braves, the Dodgers, and “several others” are reportedly in talks to trade for Dylan Cease, the starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, with baseball expert Bob Nightengale reporting.

After two more years of team control, in 2026, Cease, 27, will be eligible for free agency.

Despite having a 7-9 record and 4.58 ERA in 2023, which wasn’t as good as anticipated, he is just one season away from finishing as the AL Cy Young Award runner-up with a 14-8 record and 2.20 ERA. The White Sox collapsed to 61-101, the MLB’s 4th poorest record, with several pitchers having their worst seasons ever.

Cease’s longevity is another compelling argument in favor of him; since making his professional debut in 2019, he has made at least 32 starts in three straight seasons, twice leading the American League in this category.

Likewise, the Braves pursued the ultra-resilient Aaron Nola in free agency, making an offer of $27 million annually, only to have him decline the offer in favor of a seven-year deal to return to Philadelphia.

After then, Atlanta switched to Sonny Gray, who inked a four-year, $100 million contract this morning with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Although Nola and Gray both had qualifying offers, which would have required Atlanta to forfeit its second and fifth highest draft picks in the 2024 MLB Draft in order to sign them, the decision to look at the trade market for Dylan Cease indicates that Atlanta is still willing to incur additional costs in order to secure a pitching upgrade. Cease will cost Chicago an undisclosed sum of prospect capital.