It’s been rather quiet on the Braves front for a couple of weeks now. They’ve made several minor moves, but for the most part, their roster is very close to the same as it was when the 2023 season ended.
As the days continue to pass, it does feel as if perhaps the Braves are satisfied with their current group. Landing one of the big remaining free agents to bolster the rotation is a long shot, given where their luxury tax payroll currently stands. However, when things are quiet, that’s usually when Alex Anthopoulos strikes gold, and there’s one available star on the trade market who’s been linked to the Braves since the beginning of the offseason, White Sox ace Dylan Cease.
The soon-to-be 28-year-old right-hander has two years remaining on his contract, and the White Sox appear ready to sell him off to the highest bidder. There is no shortage of suitors, but with the Dodgers already making a move for Tyler Glasnow last week, it does seem like they are out of the running for Cease, which is fantastic news for the Braves, who USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently called one of the “favorites” to trade Cease.
“The Chicago White Sox, who are shopping ace Dylan Cease, were disappointed seeing that the Dodgers sent promising young starter Ryan Pepiot to the Tampa Bay Rays in the Tyler Glasnow trade,” Nightengale writes. “They had strong interest in Pepiot in their earlier trade talks with the Dodgers.
Atlanta and Baltimore are the current favorites to acquire Cease.”
Take that for what it’s worth. We’ve seen MLB insiders swing and miss more than a slumping Joey Gallo this offseason. However, it does seem like the Braves have a serious interest in Dylan Cease, who makes the most sense out of any of the potentially available frontline starters.
Cease has two more seasons of affordable team control. He’s only projected to earn $8.3 million this year, which should be able to fit within the Braves budget. The team control also gives Alex Anthopoulos some time to work out an extension. That won’t be easy to accomplish with Scott Boras representing Cease, but the Braves might believe it is plausible given he’s from Milton, Georgia.
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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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