News Every Day | 12 January 2024, 23:57

Fan Shot: Should The Mets Trade For An Ace?

This is a fan shot by Petey Pete

The Chicago White Sox haven’t exactly been quiet about the fact that they are “listening to offers” for their ace starting pitcher Dylan Cease. At 28 years old, Cease would look pretty good alongside Kodai Senga atop the Mets’ starting rotation on opening day.

There have even been multiple reports that the Mets are interested in Cease and that the team is still looking at potential trades to bolster the pitching staff. He will not be eligible for free agency until 2026, and his 2024 salary has been projected to be about $8.8 million.

For his career, Cease has logged five seasons with the White Sox. He has started 123 games and hurled 658 Innings with 565 hits and a K/BB ratio of 792/294. His W-L record stands at 43-35, his ERA is 3.83, and his WHIP is 1.305. What would it take for the Mets to acquire a pitcher of Cease’s caliber?

The price for a pitcher with this profile will be very steep. The Atlanta Braves have been reportedly trying to swing a trade for Cease all winter, and they strongly covet the right-hander, but they have yet to meet Chicago’s asking price. Other teams have also been linked to the pitcher with varying degrees of interest.

Let’s explore a potential trade and think about whether the price for the Mets to acquire Dylan Cease would be worth it.

Assuming the Mets would offer four premium prospects for Cease, I believe a deal could be achieved for the right package. The question is, what is the right package?

Here’s what the Mets’ Top 75 Prospects look like, courtesy of MMO’s Michael Mayer:

https://metsmerizedonline.com/top-75-mets-prospects/

The first slot. Which player are you going to part with in order to get Chicago’s attention?

Steven Wojtowicz-MMO

Luisangel Acuna? Drew Gilbert? Jett Williams?

I think you have to offer at least one of these players to get Chicago’s interest. Obviously, I would not want to part with any of these guys, but it would be a necessary starting point for any Cease trade to happen. With that in mind, I’m going to offer them Acuña in the first prospect slot. Now, it’s a serious offer. Acuña is a wonderful prospect, but he’s a shortstop, and obviously, the Mets already have one of those. Also, although he’s at the upper end of the minor league ladder, he’s still possibly the furthest away from the big leagues in his development.

Jett Williams has been rocketing through the minors and can play infield or outfield. I think Williams has a good chance to win a batting title before his career is over. And Drew Gilbert, the Mets’ top prospect, according to Mayer, could come on very fast and will be in position down the road to take over for Starling Marte in right field. After that, you are trying to mix and match three more prospects from out of the Mets’ Top 50.

A good pool of players might be:

Kevin Parada, Ryan Clifford, Colin Houck, Marco Vargas, Mike Vasil, Blade Tidwell, Christian Scott, Tyler Stuart, Jeremiah Jackson, Nick Morabito, Jeremy Rodriguez.

Assuming the Mets would have to include at least one of their best pitching prospects, we could narrow down a potential pool to Vasil, Tidwell, Scott, and Stuart. So, for the second prospect slot, let’s pair Acuña with arguably the top Mets pitching prospect, Christian Scott. Of course, the Mets might substitute Vasil or Tidwell at this point as well, or Chicago might have a preference. Then, dealing from an organizational position of strength, the Mets could include a blue-chip catching prospect like Kevin Parada in the third slot.

So here’s what our package looks like so far:

Luisangel Acuña SS
Christian Scott RHP
Kevin Parada C

What do you think? Could this package get a deal done for an ace pitcher?

It’s a fine offer, but I think the Mets would have to sweeten the pot to get this deal done. After all, the Mets could get two seasons out of Cease before he even reaches his 30th birthday.

So we throw in another quality pitching prospect and/or a hitter. I prefer to offer a hitter because the Mets are so painfully thin on organizational pitching. Jeremiah Jackson or Nick Morabito could get the deal done. Depending on what the White Sox are looking for, we could reasonably substitute any of our pool players in slot 4 or even add a 5th player. As long as we don’t include Jett Williams or Drew Gilbert, I think it’s a competitive offer, and the Mets aren’t giving away the farm.

Let’s say the White Sox are okay with Jeremiah Jackson because of his power potential, plus a low-level RHP prospect. Now, the Mets offer for Dylan Cease is:

White Sox Get

Luisangel Acuña SS
Christian Scott RHP
Kevin Parada – C
Jeremiah Jackson UT
RHP prospect

Mets Get

Dylan Cease RHP

What do you think, or more importantly, what would the Southsiders think? Would you make this deal? How would you change it? Or would you even bother?

Asking for a friend.

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This MMO Fan Shot was contributed by Petey Pete. Have something you want to say? Share your opinions with the best and most diverse Mets community on the web! Send your Fan Shot to michael.mayer4@gmail.com