Dylan Cease is a wanted man. The Chicago White Sox ace could be the biggest trade target currently in the market. With a whole host of teams after him, there’s bound to be a battle for Cease. Among the participants are the mighty New York Yankees but it seems they’re nearer to the door than to the center of the room. With the links weakening, is this the moment for the New York Mets to make a grand entry?

Though the Mets have just signed Sean Manaea, Cease is a kind of trade that would perfectly suit the current Mets squad. With two years of hold in play, if the Mets do enter, what will be the possible costs that they’ll have to bear?

New York Yankees, New York Mets, and the Big Apple’s need for a pitcher

It’s weird how both of the New York teams have pitching issues. While both of them a phenomenal aces – Gerrit Cole for the Pinstripes and Kodai Senga for the Mets, it’s the rest of the rotation that looks shaky. So when Dylan Cease became available, the participation of the Big Apple became obvious. But with the Yankees’ links reducing, there’s a massive opportunity for the Mets and, according to the Bleacher Report, they have the prospects for it.

The prospects, including Luisangel Acuna, Kevin Parada, Christian Scott, and Raimon Gomez, are the topmost in the Mets squad. But the team has no space for them. With the prospects at risk of growing redundant, using them as a trade target seems like an obvious choice.

But there’s one issue – the Mets have already signed two pitchers. But there’s a big difference between Severine and Manaea who’d be part of the bullpen and Cease who is a sure-shot starting pitcher. Also, the newfound strategy of the Mets to just focus on short-term deals points towards Cease being a good signing as his contract only has two years remaining. 

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But even after being attached, the New York teams are currently behind their AL East rival. 

Baltimore Orioles still lead the Dylan Cease race

It’s interesting how Baltimore Orioles, one of the lowest payrolls teams, is much ahead of the big guys in the Cease race. But it is to be expected as the Orioles have worked hard to create a farm system that was ranked no.1 by the Bleacher Report. With a tremendous pool of prospects to choose from, they can match whatever the New York teams can offer.

So as it stands, even after the big noise created by the New York Yankees and Mets, it’s the Orioles that are looking more likely to sign the ace. Will the big boys go down quietly or will they put up a fight?

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