MLB Rumors: Yankees Have 'Sincere' Interest in Dylan Cease; Red Sox, More Linked

After coming up short in their pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the New York Yankees have entered the trade sweepstakes for Dylan Cease.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees have expressed "sincere" interest in the Chicago White Sox right-hander.

There is plenty of competition for Cease right now, with Rosenthal citing the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals among teams in the mix.

Rosenthal noted a Cease trade seems "virtually certain" to happen, as the White Sox are looking to add talent to a farm system that is light on impact prospects right now.

The Yankees have previously been linked to the top remaining free-agent starting pitchers, including Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.

Montgomery was originally drafted by the Yankees in the fourth round in 2014. He made his MLB debut with the team in 2017 and spent six seasons in New York before being traded to the Cardinals in August 2022.

The Cardinals traded Montgomery to the Texas Rangers last July. Randy Miller of NJ.com reported on Thursday the 31-year-old "loves" Texas and there's a belief within the Yankees organization he will stay with the Rangers.

Even though Snell is the reigning NL Cy Young winner, there's an argument that Cease would be the best pitcher still available, either via trade or free agency, for any team to acquire.

Cease is coming off a rough 2023 when he posted a 4.58 ERA, but some of that can be explained away by the White Sox having the worst defense in MLB. He still finished with 214 strikeouts in 177 innings. It was his third consecutive season with at least 200 strikeouts.

It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Yankees want to be in trade offers for Cease. They gave up seven players to acquire Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres, though none of the players were viewed as elite-level prospects.

Cease has two years of team control remaining before he can become a free agent, so it will presumably take a significant offer for the White Sox to move him. They are also in a great position to cash in by pitting three AL East teams against each other, plus a Dodgers team loaded with young talent and a Cardinals squad that can use one more impact starter after signing Sonny Gray in free agency.