How Orioles Could Have Acquired Cy Young Finalist Through Dodgers

A recent report had the Los Angeles Dodgers interested in the same pitcher the Baltimore Orioles have interest in.

Dylan Cease continues to be one of those pitchers linked to the Baltimore Orioles in trade. Recently, Cease’s team, the Chicago White Sox, made it clear what they were looking for and, frankly, the O’s aren’t interested in that price right now.

But what if the Orioles could have gotten Cease another way, perhaps a less direct way?

Back in December, the Los Angeles Dodgers were spending more than $1 billion on free agents and in trades. Ultimately, the Dodgers pulled in superstar Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and traded for Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot.

But, before signing Yamamoto and trading for Glasnow, the Dodgers were also on Cease, per The Athletic. Among the players that the Dodgers included in potential packages was infielder Michael Busch. He was the Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect.

Busch made news last week when the Dodgers dealt him to the Chicago Cubs.

Ultimately, the White Sox didn’t bite. When you consider recent reporting by USA Today that the White Sox want either Colton Cowser or Heston Kjerstad in a trade, it’s clear the White Sox want a considerable payoff to trade Cease, a former Cy Young finalist with two years of team control.

But, here’s the twist. Once the Dodgers had Yamamoto in house, they kept talking to the White Sox about Cease. But it might not have been to load up on another MLB pitcher. It might have been to make a pitch to another team to acquire future prospects.

As The Athletic wrote:

“… their (the Dodgers’) trade with the Cubs indicated they were looking for future value. They discussed flipping Cease to another club — the Orioles were one possibility — and acquiring prospects that way.”

Would that have been a workable solution for the Orioles to get Cease? We’ll never know. The Cubs have Busch now and the White Sox have set the price for Cease with the Orioles and, for the moment, no one seems to be budging.