While Dylan Cease trade rumors linger, White Sox work to beef up starting rotation
Even with Dylan Cease still on the roster, new general manager Chris Getz and the White Sox headed into the winter meetings this week in desperate need of starting pitching.
Cease, the subject of numerous trade rumors, is the Sox' obvious ace for now.
If Getz is overwhelmed by an offer for the 27-year-old righty - the Reds might be willing to part with top pitching prospects Rhett Lowder, Chase Petty and more - a deal is likely to happen.
"With Dylan Cease, there's not a club that doesn't have a level of interest," Getz told reporters. "But there's a pace to these things. I'll continue to take the calls and certainly compare different opportunities for perhaps getting better. The starting pitching market is always an area in which teams are looking to dive into to improve their club, and Dylan's right at the top."
Stayed tuned on Cease, who tailed off last season (7-9, 4.58 ERA) but finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2022 after going 14-8, 2.20.
All of the trade speculation surrounding Cease overshadowed Getz coming out of the winter meetings with two likely starters.
While he still needs to pass a physical, Erick Fedde has a two-year, $15 million contract in place with the White Sox.
The 30-year-old Fedde added a changeup and sweeper while pitching for the NC Dinos in the Korean Baseball Organization last season. Not only did the right-hander go 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA, Fedde had 209 strikeouts and only 35 walks over 180⅓ innings.
On Wednesday the White Sox selected left-hander Shane Drohan from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft.
The 24-year-old Drohan has to stay on the White Sox's 26-man roster the entire 2024 season or be offered back to Boston.
Drohan was with Class AA Portland at the beginning of last season. He went 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 6 starts before being promoted.
In 21 games (19 starts) with Triple-A Worcester, Drohan was 5-7 with a 6.47 ERA. Armed with a promising changeup, the White Sox see potential in Drohan.
"We had some early spring training looks on him this year and we liked what we saw, and during the season as well," Getz said. "In further evaluation analytically, there were some indications of some upside here. So it's an opportunity to take a shot on an arm that we feel has the potential to have some survival skills at the major-league level."