"Painting is a little more forgiving" - White Sox's Dylan Cease once compared pitching duties, showing off his artistic persona
White Sox's ace starting pitcher Dylan Cease has been in the talks with some speculative trades as the RHP produced yet another decent season at the mound in 2023, barring the last two months when his ERA escalated beyond normal and finished at 4.58 ERA.
There is more cause for hope when looking at the fundamental indicators related to Cease's success. After all, he and Mariners ace Luis Castillo shared a 27.3% strikeout percentage last season, which is tied for the eighth-highest mark in the majors among qualifying starters and places them just ahead of Zack Wheeler and Gerrit Cole.
Looking back at a Dylan Cease video during the 2023 spring training gave a strong reflection of what the pitcher likes to do in his past time and how he maintains his playtime and pastime balance.
Dylan was observed putting in the work early in the morning, spending time with his feline friends, and talking about art and sculptures with a zeal comparable to an artifact critique.
"It's gone way better than I expected becasue I can't draw but a painting is more forgiving if you mess up, you can just turn it to the background and it's like oh you textured it" - Dylan Cease on his favorite pastime (drawing)
Over the last three seasons, Cease has been among the league's most impressive starters, even taking into consideration his challenging 2023 campaign.
Cease has started 97 games since the 2021 season began, which leads all other starting pitchers in the league. During that time, he ranked 15th with 526 2/3 innings pitched.
Dylan Cease will look to turn the tide in his favor in 2024
In the voting for the 2022 AL Cy Young Award, 27-year-old Dylan Cease came in second. He struggled in Chicago the previous season, recording a 2.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 4.58 ERA (97 ERA+).
Cease has two more years left on his contract with the Sox, and his excellent pitching arsenal makes him a compelling low-budget option for ballclubs looking for a long-term starting pitcher.
"The Braves and Dodgers are among several teams engaged with the White Sox on Dylan Cease trade talks, per @BNightengale" - TalkinBaseball_
As the rich ballclubs understand the need to address their bullpen deficiencies, the Braves and the Dodgers have been heavily linked with the 27-year-old ace.
Atlanta has already made one trade deal with Chicago this offseason, while LA looks to bolster their bullpen depth after letting go of Lance Lynn and having still not signed the mighty two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.