DALLAS — The Texas Rangers need more pitching, at least for the first half of the season with several starters on the injured list.
But help might be on the way, and it's likely not the source Rangers fans had expected heading into the offseason.
While free agent Jordan Montgomery has yet to sign a deal, Texas is apparently turning its focus to the trade market: The Rangers are reportedly in talks with the Chicago White Sox on a potential trade for right-hander Dylan Cease, according to The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant and several other baseball insiders, including The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
The reported trade package would potentially involve utility player Ezequiel Duran, who broke out as a rookie for the Rangers last year, and pitching prospects Jack Leiter and Brock Porter.
Both Leiter and Porter have potential to become big-league starters in the near future. But Cease would provide what the Rangers need in the moment: A seasoned starter who would immediately get plugged into the top-end of the rotation.
Cease, 28, has a career 3.83 ERA in five seasons with the White Sox. He had an uneven 2023, posting a 4.58 ERA in 177 innings, but he also struck out 214 batters, and his expected ERA was nearly a half-run lower.
Cease was at his career-best in 2022 with a 2.20 ERA in 184 innings and a second-place finish in the American League Cy Young voting.
Cease has long been rumored to be a trade possibility for the rebuilding White Sox, but talks have heated up this week, with the Rangers still on the hunt for another starter and the potential injury to New York Yankees' ace Gerrit Cole.
The San Diego Padres are also said to be in the market for a starting pitcher and have reportedly been in talks with the White Sox, according to Rosenthal and Morosi.
