Dylan Cease Not Traded at 2023 Deadline After White Sox Reportedly Took Calls on SP

The 2023 campaign has been a disappointing one for the Chicago White Sox and their fans, but they can at least take solace knowing one of the team's best players was not traded ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET deadline.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the White Sox elected to not trade pitcher Dylan Cease despite plenty of rumors surrounding his potential availability.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the American League Central team was "taking more serious offers for" the right-hander prior to this decision.

That the White Sox were in a position to even consider trading Cease underscores how poorly they have played this year.

They are 43-64 and in fourth place in a lackluster American League Central that doesn't feature a single team with a record better than one game over .500. Yet Chicago has consistently failed to take advantage of the opportunity to make up ground in the division while other teams struggle.

Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported the front office was open to trading anyone on the roster outside of Luis Robert, suggesting a Cease trade was a possibility ahead of the deadline.

Yet he is not scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2025 season, so the asking price was expectedly high with multiple years of team control. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, "word is the package it would take to land Dylan Cease is understandably enormous."

The 27-year-old was among the best pitchers in the entire league last season with a 2.20 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 227 strikeouts in 184 innings. He finished in second place in the American League Cy Young race behind only Justin Verlander and figured to be the anchor of Chicago's staff again in 2023.

That has not always been the case.

Cease has a 4.15 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 119.1 innings this season. His disappointing downturn is one of a number of reasons the White Sox have struggled, but it is fair to expect him to rediscover his previous form given his age and recent track record.

If he does, it will come with the only MLB team he has ever known since he was not traded Tuesday.