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Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners.  With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

Whether it’s a question about a recent transaction, a future transaction or anything else related to the offseason, we’d love to hear from you!  You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it.  iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The Opener: Bellinger, International Signing, Spring Training

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Here are three things worth watching in baseball today…

1. Bellinger’s still out there:

After a bounceback season with the Cubs in 2023, Cody Bellinger seemed to set himself up for a nice payday going into 2024. That hasn’t materialized just yet, as he lingers on the open market in mid-January. His most recent employer held 2024 Cubs Convention over the weekend and Bellinger seemed like the star of the event, despite not being there. Per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, everyone was talking about Bellinger throughout the festivities. Will he end up back with the Cubbies? And when?

2. International signing period begins:

The 2024 international signing period has officially begun. Young players from countries like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and others often agree to deals years before they become official, but today is the day when pen can be put to paper. Each club has a fixed spending pool which they can use to give bonuses to players they sign from now until December 15. The lower-revenue clubs get larger pools and clubs sacrifice pool space by signing free agents that have rejected qualifying offers, while pool money can also be traded. Ben Badler of Baseball America is tracking each club’s pool space and the players they have agreements with.

3. Spring Training a month away:

Many parts of North America are currently dealing with frosty winter conditions and/or severe storms, but the boys of summer are just over the horizon. Not all clubs have the same date for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training, but it will be somewhere in the February 13-15 window for most clubs. If you’re one of the people who has to dig a car out of the snow today, perhaps you can hold that thought inside to help keep you warm.

Trade Candidate: Ha-Seong Kim

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After an underwhelming 2021 rookie season, Ha-Seong Kim has emerged as a standout big leaguer over the last two years, posting an 8.1 fWAR due to his combination of above-average (109 wRC+) hitting, excellent baserunning, and top-tier defense.  The Padres have certainly gotten a great return on the four-year, $28MM contract they signed to attract Kim from the KBO League during the 2020-21 offseason, yet with Kim now entering the final year of that deal, his time in San Diego could be running short.

While a mutual option is in place for the 2025 season, such options are almost never exercised by both parties, and the 28-year-old Kim seems like a lock to again hit the open market next winter now that he has an established MLB track record.  If the Padres don’t feel they can extend or re-sign the infielder, a trade remains a possibility, and The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes that “internally, at least, San Diego has been discussing the idea for weeks.”

Whether or not a trade actually happens remains to be seen, as a Padres official told Lin that the return would need to be “way above the line” to get the club to actually move Kim.  In addition, Kim will also naturally be one of the centerpieces of the season-opening two-game series between the Padres and Dodgers in Seoul on March 20-21, and Lin doubts that the Friars take the awkward position of moving a Korean star prior to the first MLB regular-season games to ever take place in South Korea.

That being said, adding multiple long-term assets for one year of Kim’s services is obviously a tempting concept for a Padres team that has a lot of needs to address.  Trading Kim would create a big hole in San Diego’s infield, though the team is still in dire need of outfielders and as many as two starting pitchers to slot behind Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and the newly-acquired Michael King.  The high cost of pitching would make signing a starter more expensive for the Padres than perhaps signing an infielder as a stopgap Kim replacement, plus top prospect Jackson Merrill could be part of the big league infield picture at some point in 2024.

Cost-cutting has been one of the major storylines of the San Diego offseason, and since the Padres seem to be stepping back from their financial splurges of the last couple of seasons, retaining Kim looks like less of a possibility.  The team is reportedly looking to reduce spending to around $200MM in payroll in 2024, and ideally get under the $237MM luxury tax threshold if possible.  After signing Yuki Matsui and Woo Suk Go to upgrade the bullpen, the Padres are projected (via Roster Resource) to have a $156.3MM payroll and a tax number of just under $212MM, so there isn’t a ton of flexibility for the team to add meaningful outfield and rotation help.

Kim is a big part of this financial picture, in the sense that he’s quite a bargain at only an $8MM salary.  Since Manny Machado might be limited to early-season DH duty while he recovers from elbow surgery, Kim carries even greater import within San Diego’s infield, as he might be needed to handle third base while Machado heals up.  Jake Cronenworth would likely move first base to second base in the event of a Kim trade, but that would then leave the Padres in need of a first baseman and at least a temporary replacement at the hot corner.

It isn’t a reach to suggest that Kim might be just about the most prized trade asset on the market if the Padres made him available, as Lin notes that the Friars have already drawn “widespread interest” in Kim from rival teams.  Though he primarily played second base last season, Kim won the NL utility Gold Glove for his all-around defensive work at second, third, and shortstop.  Considering how many contenders and would-be contenders have a need at at least one of these infield positions, up to half the league could be seen as plausible suitors to bid on Kim, even if some teams are better equipped than others to meet San Diego’s high asking price.

Kim’s $8MM salary might fit the budget of smaller-market teams like the Rays, Guardians, Pirates, or Royals, though perhaps only Tampa (who has a long history of trades with the Padres) is the only true World Series contender of that group that might be inspired to make an all-in move to land Kim.  The Brewers, Blue Jays, Mariners, Giants, Angels, Tigers, Cubs, and Marlins all have holes to fill in their infield, even if San Francisco might be less likely if San Diego doesn’t want to deal Kim within the NL West.  Clubs like the Twins, Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, or Phillies are more speculative candidates since another infielder probably would have to be moved to create space for Kim, but an aggressive play can’t be ruled out.

Though Kim is only under contract for 2024, some teams might view him as a longer-term opportunity if they feel they have a chance to extend or re-sign him next offseason.  Even if clubs could also see a Kim trade as strictly a move for the coming season, he is certainly a candidate to receive a qualifying offer, so a team could recoup a draft pick as compensation if he signed elsewhere.

Central Notes: Guardians, Cubs, Cease, Gorman

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The Guardians have hired Dan Puente for an unspecified role on their major league coaching staff, per a report from The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma. Puente, 42, was a 12th-round pick in the 2004 draft by the Orioles and played in the minor leagues for two seasons, though he didn’t make it past the Single-A level before retiring from professional baseball. During his post-playing career, Puente took roles in the Astros and White Sox organizations before eventually landing a hitting coach gig in the Cubs’ minor league system prior to the 2020 campaign. He’s remained with the Cubs as a minor league hitting coach ever since, most recently coaching at High-A South Bend this past season.

While it’s not yet known what role Puente will take on in Cleveland, it’s worth noting that the Guardians lost assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez to the Padres earlier this winter when Rodriguez was offered a job as hitting coach under new manager Mike Shildt. Cleveland’s coaching staff has seen some noticeable turnover this winter, headlined by longtime skipper Terry Francona’s retirement from managing. Since Stephen Vogt was hired to take over for Francona as manager, the club has added Craig Albernaz as bench coach and Kai Correa as fielding coordinator. The club’s new coaching staff figures to have their hands full as they look to return to contention after a surprising third place finish in a weak AL Central division last year. The club’s 76-86 record put them two games behind the Tigers for second place and a whopping 11 games back of the Twins for the division crown.

More from the league’s Central divisions…

  • Cubs fans enjoyed the club’s annual Cubs Convention this weekend, and comments from president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer regarding the club’s offseason were among the events on the event itinerary. As noted by The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, Hoyer seemingly pumped the breaks on trade rumors regarding young slugger Christopher Morel, whose name has swirled in trade rumors throughout the offseason. While Morel wasn’t in attendance at this weekend’s festivities, Mooney relays that Hoyer described the idea that Morel’s absence was due to a potential trade in the works as “laughable.” Morel slashed a solid .247/.314/.508 while slugging 26 homers in just 107 games in 2023, though his position for the 2024 season is up in the air after spending much of last season at DH.
  • White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease has been the topic of plenty of trade talks throughout the offseason, and WEII’s Rob Bradford recently spoke to the hurler about the barrage of rumors about his future this winter. Cease told Bradford that he takes most rumors “with a grain of salt” and noted that he hasn’t spoken with the club’s front office about the possibility of a trade, though he did acknowledge that “Publicly saying it’s an option is like an indirect way of letting me know.” Cease added that whether or not he’s traded has no impact on his offseason work, saying that “At the end of the day, it really isn’t my job… My job is to perform wherever I go and be a good player.” The 28-year-old righty is coming off a down season where he pitched to a 4.58 ERA over 33 starts put finished as the runner-up for the AL Cy Young award just one year prior after posting a 2.20 ERA in 184 innings of work back in 2022.
  • Back issues played a role in limiting Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman to just 119 games last year, and Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch relays that the 23-year-old slugger has changed his offseason routine in hopes of staying healthy throughout the 2024 campaign. While Gorman told Guerrero that he hasn’t been able to pin down a specific cause of the issues, he’s been focusing on mobility and flexibility this offseason while working with a nutritionist to best prepare himself for the upcoming season. Gorman flashed impressive power in 2023, slashing .236/.328/.478 with 27 homers in just 119 games last year. Gorman split time between second base, third base, and DH last season and figures to split time between second base and DH with Brendan Donovan headed into the 2024 campaign.

Free Agent Faceoff: Tim Anderson/Amed Rosario

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Teams have been spoiled by the star-studded free agent classes of recent offseasons, particularly when it comes to shortstops. The past two winters have seen the likes of Corey Seager, Carlos Correa (twice), Marcus Semien, Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, and Xander Bogaerts hit the open market, giving teams in search of help at the position a plethora of All Stars to choose from. Teams in need of help at shortstop this winter have found themselves with slim pickings, however.

Just three players with recent experience at shortstop cracked MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB free agents list this offseason, and the highest rated among them (Gio Urshela) played just nine games at the position in 2023 before suffering a groin injury that leaves questions about his ability to handle the position defensively entering his age-32 campaign. That leaves just two players at the top of the offseason’s thin shortstop market, and both come with major question marks: longtime White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, and former Mets, Guardians, and Dodgers infielder Amed Rosario. Both players had profiled as everyday regulars at the position entering the year but are coming off significant down seasons both at the plate and in the field.

Entering the 2023 season, Anderson was generally considered to be a top-10 shortstop in the majors. Over the previous four seasons, he had slashed an impressive .318/.347/.474 in 374 games while collecting two All Star appearances, a Silver Slugger award, and a seventh-place finish in AL MVP voting. His 123 wRC+ during that time frame ranked seventh among all shortstops in the majors, ahead of stars such as Marcus Semien and Francisco Lindor. Unfortunately, the 2023 campaign saw the 30-year-old struggle badly both at the plate and in the field. Anderson posted -2 Outs Above Average last year after posting a +5 figure over the preceding four seasons while slashing a putrid .245/.286/.296 in 524 trips to the plate. That performance translates to a wRC+ of 60, 40% worse than the league average hitter and the worst figure among all qualified major leaguers last year.

As for Rosario, the 28-year-old was once a consensus top-10 prospect in the sport but struggled early in his career as a member of the Mets. He took a significant step forward during his age-23 season, however, and from 2019 to 2022 was more or less a league average regular at shortstop with a .282/.315/.412 slash line good for a 101 wRC+. While his defensive chops at shortstop were questionable, he nonetheless accumulated a respectable 7.3 fWAR during that time, good for 19th among shortstops across those four seasons. Just as Rosario’s peak was less extreme than Anderson’s, so too was his downfall in 2023. Rosario’s overall offensive production dipped only slightly last year as he slashed .263/.305/.378 (88 wRC+) in 545 trips to the plate. Much of Rosario’s regression this season came in the field, as he posted a whopping -14 Outs Above Average at shortstop in 2023, putting him in the first percentile among all major leaguers according to Statcast.

As worrisome as Anderson’s offensive woes and Rosario’s defensive struggles are, teams in need of a shortstop will be hard-pressed to find a better option available to them. While it seems there’s at least a decent chance that the Padres trade defensive stalwart Ha-Seong Kim this offseason, other top trade candidates capable of handling short such as Willy Adames of the Brewers appear unlikely to be moved at this point in the offseason. Free agency doesn’t offer much in the way of alternative options either. Looking beyond Urshela and his aforementioned defensive question marks, the list of available shortstops is made up primarily of aging veterans coming off down seasons like Brandon Crawford and Elvis Andrus and players who have struggled to stay on the field at all recently such as Nick Ahmed and Adalberto Mondesi.

Given the many question marks surrounding both players, rumors of interest have been relatively few and far between to this point in the offseason. The Angels were connected to Anderson back in November, and his presence could allow the club to give youngster Zach Neto more time in the minor leagues to develop after he was rushed to the majors last summer. As for Rosario, he’s been rumored as a potential target for the Red Sox and Blue Jays, though both clubs have added middle infielders since then in Vaughn Grissom and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, respectively.

As far as clubs who could be speculative fits for Anderson or Rosario this winter, the team that sticks out most as in need of a shortstop is the Marlins. Miami currently figures to utilize Jon Berti as their everyday shortstop despite him having started just 86 games at the position during his major league career, more than half of which came just last season. The Dodgers are also known to be on the lookout for an upgrade over their current tandem of Gavin Lux and Miguel Rojas at the position, while the Rays could use a shortstop given that Taylor Walls is still recovering from hip surgery while Wander Franco’s future in MLB is in question due to alleged inappropriate relationships with minors. The Mariners, A’s, and Pirates are among other clubs who could potentially benefit from adding another bat to their middle infield mix.

If your team needed to added a shortstop to its middle infield mix this winter, which would you rather sign? Would you value Anderson’s stronger defense and more impressive peak, or Rosario’s youth and stronger overall numbers last season?

Angels Sign Richie Martin To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have agreed to a minor league deal with shortstop Richie Martin, according to the transactions log on Martin’s MLB.com player page.

Martin, 29, was selected 20th overall by the A’s in the 2015 draft out of the University of Florida. Martin struggled at the plate early in his professional career but seemed to enjoy a breakout season at the Double-A level in 2018, when he slashed .300/.368/.439 in 118 games at the level. Despite that strong performance and his pedigree as a former first-round pick, the A’s declined to protect Martin from the Rule 5 draft that winter and he was selected by the Orioles.

Baltimore retained Martin on their roster throughout the 2019 season and he appeared in 120 games for the club as a part-time player at shortstop. In 309 trips to the plate, Martin struggled badly with a .208/.260/.322 slash line, but the performance was enough to keep a spot on the 108-loss Orioles throughout the season, earning Baltimore the unrestricted rights to Martin’s services in future seasons. Unfortunately, Martin’s development was further thrown off course by the shortened 2020 campaign. Martin suffered a fractured wrist less than two weeks before Opening Day, ending his season before it began.

When Martin returned to action in 2021, he found a new role as a depth option for the Orioles and spent the majority of his time at the Triple-A level. He received just 138 plate appearances in the majors across the 2021 and ’22 seasons and slashed a paltry .219/.263/.289 across his 50 games with the big league club. In 2022, Martin’s numbers at the Triple-A level were respectable despite his weak big league performance as he posted a 96 wRC+ in 80 games at the level while playing solid defense at second base, shortstop, and all three outfield spots. That performance wasn’t enough for Martin to retain a spot on the Orioles’ big league roster, as they designated him for assignment in early September.

Upon electing minor league free agency that offseason, however, Martin did find interest from other teams on minor league pacts. The then-28-year-old infielder first signed with the Reds last winter but was released shortly before Opening Day and caught on with the Nationals back in April. Martin ultimately did not make an appearance in the majors and slashed just .217/.329/.314 at the Triple-A level. Now that he’s signed on in Anaheim, Martin provides the Halos with middle infield depth in the upper levels of the minors entering the 2024 campaign. With Luis Rengifo and Zach Neto expected to handle everyday duties in the middle infield for the Angels next year, Martin figures to compete with the likes of Kyren Paris and Michael Stefanic for a role on the club’s bench this spring and could act as non-roster depth if he fails to break camp with the club out of Spring Training.

Blue Jays Reportedly “Monitoring” Blake Snell’s Market

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In the aftermath of the offseason’s top free agent pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, signing with the Dodgers late last month, the market for #2 pitching free agent Blake Snell has begun to pick up. The Red Sox, Phillies, Giants, and Angels have all been connected to Snell in recent weeks and the Yankees are known to have made an offer for the lefty’s services. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale provides details on that offer, suggesting that while Snell’s camp is seeking “at least $240MM” this winter, the Yankees’ offer came in “nearly $100MM” below that target.

Since those initial connections, both the Giants and Yankees have made rotation additions that might take them out of the market for Snell: The Giants picked up Robbie Ray in trade with the Mariners and signed Jordan Hicks to bolster their rotation mix, while the Yankees added Marcus Stroman to their own starting five. While it’s unclear whether or not either club’s interest in Snell persists beyond those additions, it’s at least fair to say that they’re in a less desperate position regarding starting pitcher than they were a few weeks ago. Even if those two clubs are no longer part of Snell’s market, however, Nightengale suggests that there are “several” teams that remain engaged with Snell’s camp in hopes his hefty price tag will drop as the offseason continues. In particular, he notes that the Blue Jays “have been quietly monitoring” Snell throughout his free agency.

Toronto would be something of a surprising fit for Snell. While the club was among the finalists involved in the Yamamoto sweepstakes, the club has seemed to eschew a more general foray into the pitching side of free agency this winter in favor of bolstering a lineup that lost Matt Chapman, Whit Merrifield, and Brandon Belt to free agency this winter after key bats such as George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. under-performed in 2023. By contrast, starting pitching proved to be a notable strength of the Blue Jays’ roster last season as the club was led by ace righty Kevin Gausman and saw strong rebound campaigns from both Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Berrios after difficult seasons in 2022.

With that being said, the Blue Jays made clear they had money to spend this winter with their strong bid for the services of Shohei Ohtani last month and the club’s recent additions of Kevin Kiermaier and Isiah Kiner-Falefa make a strong pursuit of Cody Bellinger or Chapman, the offseason’s best remaining positional free agents, less likely than they appeared to be earlier this winter. With money available and few clear fits in free agency to spend it on, a pursuit of Snell could place Toronto’s rotation firmly among the best in the game. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner, Snell led the majors with a sterling 2.25 ERA in 180 innings of work last season and would create an enviable duo at the top of the club’s rotation alongside Gausman.

A pursuit of Snell would also provide the Jays with protection against potential injury or ineffectiveness that they lack after veteran southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu departed for free agency back in November. While the club’s rotation looks strong on paper, a regression from Kikuchi or Berrios or continued struggles from Alek Manoah after an abysmal 2023 campaign could hamper the club’s ability to emerge from a competitive AL East with a playoff spot next season. Even Chris Bassitt, despite serving as one of the most reliable mid-rotation starters in the game in recent years, threw a career-high 200 frames last year across 33 starts and is entering his age-35 season in 2024. While top prospect Rickey Tiedemann could factor into the club’s rotation mix sometime next season and provide the depth the club’s starting five currently lacks, the addition of another quality rotation piece such as Snell would take pressure off of a 21-year-old hurler with just four innings of work at the Triple-A level headed into what could be his rookie campaign.

Of course, adding a bat-first player to the club’s beleaguered offense is surely a higher priority than a pursuit of any pitcher, and the club may prefer to keep its financial powder dry with an eye on a robust free agent class next offseason that currently projects to include offensive stars such as Juan Soto, Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman. Nightengale seemingly indicates that the Blue Jays don’t have interest in adding Snell at his current, hefty asking price, and even if the price on his services does drop its likely a rotation-needy club such as the Red Sox or Angels would have more incentive to win a bidding war than Toronto. If the Blue Jays are hoping to add depth to their rotation without breaking the bank, pursuing a hurler capable of swinging between the rotation and the bullpen such as Alex Wood, Jakob Junis, or previously-rumored target Yariel Rodriguez could provide the club with additional depth while leaving the door open to a pursuit of Bellinger, Chapman, or any of next winter’s star free agents.

West Notes: Astros, Padres, Dodgers

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The Astros have made it clear that adding to their relief corps is a priority this winter, with interest in the likes of Robert Stephenson as well as Jordan Hicks before the latter signed with the Giants last week. One avenue the club doesn’t appear to be exploring, at least for the moment, is a reunion with right-hander Phil Maton. According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the Astros haven’t showed much interest in Maton since the righty departed for free agency back in November, though Rome notes that “shouldn’t entirely dismiss” the possibility of a reunion later in the offseason.

Maton, 31 in March, enjoyed something of a breakout season in Houston during the 2023 campaign with a 3.00 ERA and 3.74 FIP in 66 innings of work. Maton struck out a solid 27% of batters faced while walking 9.1% and generating grounders at a 42.9% clip. Solid as that season was, however, Maton lacks the long-term track record in high-leverage situations of other relief arms on the market. Dating back to the 2020 season, Maton has pitched to a 3.93 ERA (106 ERA+) and 3.69 FIP in 223 appearances, painting him as more of a quality middle relief option than a player who can be relied upon in the late innings.

Despite the relatively short track record of late inning success, the revelation that the Astros may not be interested in retaining Maton is something of a surprise. After all, a report last month indicated the sides had been in contact, and Houston’s publicly-acknowledged payroll limitations could price them out of the market for players like Stephenson, who MLBTR predicted would land a four-year $36MM deal this winter or even fellow righty Hector Neris, who dominated to a 1.71 ERA in 71 appearances with the Astros last season and has recently seen his market begin to pick up.

With Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu forming a solid duo at the back of Houston’s bullpen, re-signing Maton to cover the middle innings would be a way to help bolster the club’s depth without breaking the bank. If the Astros do prove to be uninterested in bringing back Maton, the likes of David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, and Matt Moore could be other relatively cost-effective options at the club’s disposal.

More from around MLB’s West divisions…

  • As the Padres look to rebuild their lineup after shipping Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Bronx last month, they’ve investigated a variety of options to complement right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. on the outfield grass next year. One such option, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, was center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. Lin adds that while San Diego was interested in the veteran center fielder’s services prior to him signing with the Blue Jays on a one-year deal, it’s unlikely the club would have been willing to match the $10.5MM guarantee Toronto offered Kiermaier to remain up north. That reluctance on the part of San Diego could be a bad sign for the club’s reported interest in Michael A. Taylor as the 32-year-old sports a similar profile to both Kiermaier and fellow center fielder Harrison Bader, who signed an identical contract to Kiermaier with the Mets shortly after the new year. Should Taylor prove to be out of the club’s price range, the team could look to the trade market in its search for a center fielder or explore lower-tier options like Adam Duvall or Aaron Hicks.
  • The Dodgers have built a reputation for getting the most out of their pitchers under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, ranging from their previous work with Alex Wood in the mid-2010s to their recent success in turning Evan Phillips into a quality closer since he joined the organization in 2021. As discussed by Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, the club’s strong pitching infrastructure has been key to luring free agent pitchers such as Tyler Anderson and Noah Syndergaard to the club in recent years. While the system faltered somewhat in 2023 as the team posted middle-of-the-pack numbers from the mound, DiGiovanna suggests that the club’s infrastructure played a role in luring high-octane arms like those of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers this winter. Now that the club has spent more than $1 billion to lock that star-studded trio up long term, they’ll surely look to optimize the performance of those front-of-the-rotation pieces much as they did reclamation projects in previous seasons.

Dylan Cease Rumors: Dodgers, Busch, Orioles, Yankees

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Considering the Dodgers’ need for pitching, it isn’t surprising that L.A. was linked to White Sox righty Dylan Cease in trade rumors on multiple occasions this winter.  There hasn’t been much in the way of new reporting on the Dodgers’ interest in Cease for over a month, however, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that a trade may be less likely because the Dodgers have since fortified their rotation with other arms.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s twelve-year, $325MM contract was the big free agent strike, and Los Angeles swung a big trade with the Rays to land Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot.  Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Walker Buehler now project as the top three starters in the L.A. rotation, with Bobby Miller as the fourth, and a collection of candidates (Ryan Yarbrough, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Michael Grove) battling for the fifth starter job.  Dustin May is expected to make a midseason return from elbow surgery, and a reunion with Clayton Kershaw remains a possibility even if Kershaw will also be sidelined until around the middle of the year as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

There’s still some room here for the Dodgers to further solidify things beyond a potential new contract with Kershaw, so a Cease trade can’t be entirely ruled out, even if may be less likely.  It’s safe to assume that the Dodgers will continue to monitor the market for any bigger-name possibilities, yet Rosenthal writes that Los Angeles might now be “looking for future value” in any further trades, such as Thursday’s swap with the Cubs that saw the Dodgers acquire two teenage prospects in exchange for Michael Busch and Yency Almonte.

In one particularly novel scenario, Rosenthal reports that the Dodgers even considered acquiring Cease from the White Sox and then flipping him to a third team.  The specifics of this arrangement aren’t clear, yet it would’ve been a fascinating way for both the Dodgers and White Sox to obtain some high-level young talent for Cease, in a mix-and-match of prospects each team might’ve had their eye on in the Dodgers’ organization or within the pipeline of whoever the third club involved might’ve been.

Busch was also part of some of the Dodgers’ offers for Cease, Rosenthal writes, so the young infielder might’ve found himself on the south side of Chicago rather than landing in Wrigleyville.  Without knowing what the rest of this trade package to the White Sox might have included, it makes sense why the Sox might have not been too enthralled with Busch as a key piece.  While Busch has been crushing minor league pitching, his defense is considered a weak point — if first base ends up being his ultimate position, the White Sox already have Andrew Vaughn in place.

It isn’t any secret that the White Sox have put a very high price tag on Cease, so while Busch is a top-100 type of prospect, the Sox might’ve viewed him as a secondary or even tertiary piece in an acceptable trade package.  Several highly-regarded prospects have been reportedly on Chicago’s radar in trade talks, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale adds Yankees pitching prospect Chase Hampton and Orioles outfielders Heston Kjerstad and Colton Cowser to the list of young players drawing interest from the Southsiders.

Since the Yankees just signed Marcus Stroman this week, they could perhaps be out on Cease, since naturally New York isn’t keen on the idea of moving Hampton or slugger Spencer Jones, who is also reportedly of interest to the White Sox in a Cease trade.  Considering how the Yankees already dealt a lot of their younger pitching depth to the Padres to obtain Juan Soto, moving Hampton in particular might be something of a non-starter.

Kjerstad (the second overall pick of the 2020 draft) and Cowser (fifth overall in 2021) are two of the many up-and-comers in Baltimore’s loaded farm system, and both players made their Major League debuts this past season, though with only 110 combined plate appearances.  The duo might well be lined up as the Orioles’ corner outfielders of the future, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see pending free agent Anthony Santander dealt at some point this season if either Kjertsad or Cowser prove themselves capable of being MLB regulars right away.

Of course, it’s not out of the question that the O’s might deal from their deep minor league pipeline at some point this offseason, perhaps to obtain a front-of-the-rotation pitcher like Cease.  Baltimore might be more willing to come closer to Chicago’s asking price due to the sheer number of quality prospects the O’s have on hand, yet considering how many of those youngsters have barely reached the majors or even Triple-A, the Orioles might want more time to evaluate their options before deciding on who might be trade bait.

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