Dylan Cease Addresses White Sox Trade Rumors: 'I Just Don't Know Where I'll End Up'

After an offseason of trade rumors and speculation, Dylan Cease arrived at spring training this week still a member of the Chicago White Sox.

Speaking to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Cease admitted he has no idea what's going to happen as he continues to prepare for the start of the regular season.

"I just don't know where I'll end up," he said. "I'll have fans come up to me after reading an article. Fans see the speculation and everyone gets excited about this and that. I think it's good for the game for sure. But for the most part, I try not to over-focus on it. Just prepare like normal."

It does seem likely that Cease will at least begin this season anchoring the White Sox rotation.

General manager Chris Getz told reporters on Monday he expects that Cease will start for the team on Opening Day.

One potential sticking point for teams interested in acquiring Cease could be the asking price from Chicago.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported on Jan. 10 that the White Sox were telling teams that called they wanted "multiple" top prospects in any deal for the 28-year-old pitcher.

Cease and Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers were the two most accomplished pitchers mentioned in trade rumors throughout the offseason. The Brewers eventually traded Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles for Joey Ortiz, DL Hall and the No. 34 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft.

Ortiz is a top-100 prospect coming into this season. Hall exhausted his prospect eligibility last year, but he was a top-100 prospect before that.

Neither player was considered a superstar prospect. They were both in the back half of the top 100 rankings, but that's still good value for the Brewers considering Burnes is entering his final season of team control before hitting free agency next offseason.

The White Sox are presumably seeking higher-end prospects for Cease because of his contract status. He has two years of team control remaining and is only making $8 million this season.

Cease's 4.58 ERA last season doesn't look appealing on the surface, but much of that can be attributed to the White Sox having the worst defense in MLB than an obvious decline in his skill set.

The right-hander struck out more than 200 hitters for the third consecutive season and had the second-lowest home-run rate of his career (1.0 per nine innings).

If Getz wants to rebuild the White Sox mid-tier farm system in a hurry, Cease is the best card he has to play on the trade market. His patience isn't surprising, even if does leave Cease hanging in the wind waiting for a resolution to the situation one way or another.