The Los Angeles Dodgers are the unquestioned winners of the MLB offseason, wielding their financial might while other teams struggle through television rights uncertainty.
Shohei Ohtani started things off in early December, choosing the Dodgers despite similar contract offers from other teams. While he was being introduced, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman finalized a massive trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow.
Glasnow immediately solidified a shaky rotation that’s stuck waiting until 2025 for Ohtani to return to the mound. And then they made it even better.
Top free agent starter available Yoshinobu Yamamoto then turned down a better financial offer from the New York Yankees. Suddenly the Dodgers went from a hitting heavy team to having arguably the best rotation in the sport. And they might not be done yet.
Ken Rosenthal reported at The Athletic about the trade market for Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease on Thursday. And sure enough, the Dodgers might be in the lead to acquire yet another Cy Young-quality pitcher.
“The Dodgers,” Rosenthal wrote, “even after spending $1 billion this offseason on right-handers Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, are not ruling out the addition of another starter with Ohtani out as a pitcher until 2025, sources said.”
And when mentioning specific teams, they jumped out first. “The Dodgers, Cardinals and Red Sox are among the teams possibly in the mix,” he wrote. The rich just keep on getting richer.
Dodgers Going For It In A Big Way
Rosenthal also said the Yankees and Orioles are said to have “sincere interest,” but few teams can match the prospect capital the Dodgers have to offer. And Cease, given his talent, age, and contract status, will certainly merit a significant prospect return.
Cease is just 27-years-old and under contract for 2024 and 2025. His 2022 season was outstanding, with 227 strikeouts in 177 innings and a 2.20 ERA. He also finished second in the Cy Young voting, behind only Justin Verlander.
And in an era where starting pitcher innings continue to drop each year, he’s thrown 165.2, 184 and 177 innings the past three seasons. That combination of durability and elite top level performance is hard to find, especially without committing to a Yamamoto-level contract.
If the Dodgers do somehow outbid the other interested teams, a rotation of Yamamoto, Glasnow, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller and Dylan Cease would easily be the best in MLB. Along with one of the best lineups in the sport, anchored by Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.
The White Sox are reportedly in no hurry to trade Cease, waiting for parties to up their offers if they miss out on Blake Snell or other free agent starters. The Orioles and Yankees both now need pitching more than Los Angeles. But after another disappointing postseason performance, the Dodgers are going for it. Even if it might not help them much in October.