According to MLB Insider, the Braves are the favored to sign Dylan Cease. The Braves and Orioles are the current favorites to sign him. Cease
The Atlanta Braves have been linked to Dylan Cease several times this offseason, and his name has been bandied about in Braves territory for at least a month. Atlanta would have to trade for Cease, whose asking price is reported to be quite high. How much is he really worth to AA? Is he worth giving up A.J. Smith-Shawver or Bryce Elder, as well as Hurston Waldrep?
Even if you trade for him, you will only keep him until 2026, when he will become an unrestricted free agent and the bidding war for his services will begin. Cease had a 7-9 record and a 4.58 ERA in 2023. Neither of those statistics is the best in the world, but that doesn’t mean Cease isn’t full of “stuff.”
Cease had a 14-8 record with a 2.20 ERA in 177 innings, striking out 219 batters and walking 79. Cease’s worth would be determined by what we had to give up in order to gain him. I can’t sit here and pretend that adding Cease to a rotation of Fried, Strider, and Morton isn’t appealing.