The Texas Rangers’ $185 million man is once again hurt and is now done for the season. Jacob deGrom needs Tommy John surgery which ends his season and he’ll miss at least the first two months of 2024. This is the second time in deGrom’s career that he’s needed the surgery. However, the season still goes on and the Rangers now need a true ace pitcher to solidify their starting rotation. If Texas wants to end the Astros’ reign of terror in the AL West and make a World Series run, they should make a bold move and trade for White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease.
Texas Needs an Ace
Now that Jacob deGrom is shelved, their rotation consists of Martín Pérez, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning. Dunning has split his time between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Although Eovaldi, Gray, Heaney, and Pérez are all having solid seasons, none of those pitchers are top-of-the-rotation guys. Texas made Jon Gray their ace last season, however, after an injury-plagued and inconsistent 2022 season; he’s shown that he is better off not being at the top of the rotation.
Dylan Cease Is off to an Inconsistent Start
So far this season, Dylan Cease is off to an inconsistent start. He’s currently 3-3 with an ERA of 4.63 to go along with 74 strikeouts and a FIP of 4.27. He concluded the months of April and May with a 4.88 and 5.57 earned run averages respectively. This includes having four starts where he was charged with giving up four or more runs. However, what isn’t helping his cause is the White Sox offense which currently has a total OPS of .687. Cease has had only one season where he could rely on Chicago’s offense to help ease his workload. It’s really hard to pitch when you have to worry about whether your offense will support you or not.
He’d Thrive With an Offense Like the Rangers
Compared to Chicago, the Rangers offense is so much better. As a team, Texas has a total OPS of .802 and only the Tampa Bay Rays have one higher. On offense, Texas leads the league in batting average, hits, runs scored, RBI, and OBP. A pitcher like Cease would thrive with the offense the Rangers have had this season. If the Rangers were to make a deal for Dylan Cease, I have no doubt that we’d see the pitcher we’ve seen the past two seasons.
Cease Has Been Dominant the Past Two Seasons
Despite the slow start this season, it’s hard to argue with the dominance that Cease has displayed the past couple of seasons. In the past two seasons, Cease has gone 27-15 with an ERA of 3.01 and 453 strikeouts. Last season, he finished placed second in the Cy Young Award voting behind only Justin Verlander. If Texas were to make the deal for him, I believe that his dominance from the past two seasons can return.
The Sox Need to Replenish Their Farm System
The most recent full rebuild the Chicago White Sox went through hasn’t gone according to plan. With the Sox currently sitting in fourth place in the AL Central, they need to rebuild their farm system. MLB.com has them ranked 26th with two prospects inside MLB’s top 100 prospect list. While this is a promising start, Chicago still has a way to go before they’re fully restocked. With Cease having two years of team control left, the Sox have all the leverage. They can easily command a king’s ransom for him and really replenish their farm system.
The Rangers Have the Prospects to Make This Deal
The Rangers farm system is currently ranked seventh according to MLB.com. Their system featured six players ranked inside MLB’s top 100 prospects list. With the Rangers built to win right now, it’s time for them to make a splash at the deadline. Texas has an offense that can score runs at will, Texas should shore up its rotation for a deep playoff run. With a White Sox team looking to shed impactful big-league players, Texas has the farm system to make a deal for Cease happen.
Texas Has So Many Things They Can Do Both in the Present and Future
With two years of team control remaining, the Rangers have a pitcher that can possibly be a long-term rotation piece in the future. These two seasons will allow the Rangers to really evaluate him to see if they want to re-sign him to a longer-term deal. In case deGrom isn’t the same after surgery, Cease could possibly take over as the ace going forward as well. Texas can also move him in case the Rangers are just having a “mirage season.” Making the move for Cease gives the front office many options.
Time for the Texas Rangers to Be Bold at the Deadline
Now that deGrom is out for the season and for part of 2024, the Rangers need to be bold and acquire an ace. While they have some solid starters, those pitchers aren’t meant to be pitching at the top of the rotation. With how explosive the Rangers offense has been this season; I believe Dylan Cease would thrive in Texas. Cease has the potential to return to the form we saw during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Dylan Cease would not only solidify the top of the rotation, but he’d make the Rangers much more dangerous going forward.
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