White Sox Ace Most Likely To Be Traded In Spring Training; Do Cardinals Make Sense?

Could St. Louis land another top arm before Opening Day?

The St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff significantly underperformed in 2023, leading to the franchise's worst record in 33 years.

To correct the shortcoming of last season, the Cardinals acted early this offseason to land three veteran starting pitchers and later acquired multiple high-leverage relievers.

With concerns remaining that the bolstered rotation still isn't strong enough, there might be an option for the Cardinals to pursue before the first pitch is thrown on Opening Day.

Chicago White Sox right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease was recently listed as the player most likely to get traded this spring by The Athletic's annual spring training preview survey of executives, former executives, coaches and scouts, per Jayson Stark.

With Cease only under contract through 2025 and the White Sox far from competitive, there's a good chance that Chicago will be looking to see what they can get in return for trading the hurler. 

More likely than not, the White Sox will wait for the trade deadline to shop him but that strategy could run them the risk of losing out if he gets injured or performs poorly in the first half of the season.

Cease posted a 7-9 record with a 4.58 ERA, 214-to-79 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .250 batting average against and a 1.42 WHIP in 177 innings pitched for the White Sox last season.

The 28-year-old has a proven track record for the five years he's been in the league -- 2022 being his best season where he recorded a 14-8 record with a 2.20 ERA in 184 innings pitched.

The Cardinals would likely have to trade multiple top-tier prospects such as Victor Scott II and Tink Hence to acquire the Chicago ace this spring. Given that the Cardinals have passed on multiple opportunities to add high-end starters recently, it's highly unlikely to see the organization make such a move to trade for Cease.

While the idea of adding an impact arm to pair with Sonny Gray is fun, it would be unwise for the Cardinals to throw away potential integral parts of their future for a short-term investment.

More MLB: Cardinals Top Prospect's Versatility Could Help Pave Way For His Debut