The Houston Astros are entering the trade deadline with one thing in mind: repeating as champions. In order to do that, they’ll likely need to add a piece or two.
The Astros reportedly are interested in Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease. The 27-year-old pitcher could be a solid piece for Chicago but he could also help them jumpstart a bit of a rebuild.
Nat “Gordo” Gordon and Rob Bradford of Audacy’s original podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” put together a Cease trade proposal that could work for both the Astros and White Sox.
“They should trade Dylan Cease. The White Sox should trade him,” Gordon said (12:30 in player above). “But it’s tough with the Astros.”
The Astros only have one top 100 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, so Houston would have to get creative to land Cease from Chicago. That may mean offering the White Sox some financial relief.
That financial relief could come in the form of Yoan Moncada, who has one year left on his contract at $24 million, and then a $5 million buyout. The former top prospect has failed to live up to the hype with his .252 career batting average.
Tim Anderson is another overpaid White Sox infielder. Chicago exercised their club option at $12.5 million this season with another team option at $14 million next year.
Teams have taken on negative assets to land a star player before, such as the Dodgers trading for Mookie Betts and David Price from the Red Sox.
In return, the White Sox would receive outfielder Drew Gilbert, who is the Astros’ top prospect (70th overall per MLB Pipeline), along with reigning World Series MVP Jeremy Pena and former first-round pick Forrest Whitley, who looks like a bust but who knows with a change of scenery.
Who says no?
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