On Friday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the New York Mets are among the teams that continue to check in on White Sox starter and popular trade target Dylan Cease.
While the Mets have shown interest in lefty starting pitchers Hyun-jin Ryu and Sean Manaea as Mike Mayer of Metsmerized Online reported, they are still exploring other avenues. Along with Cease, Sherman also noted they continue to show interest in Japanese lefty Shōto Imanaga, whose price could break $100 million per multiple reports.
In terms of Cease, Joel mentions that they are not the favorite in this race as the Orioles have a bevy of prospects to offer up, and the Yankees and Dodgers are still in pursuit of Cease. However, the 2022 Cy Young Award runner-up fits many of the Met’s needs as he brings the Mets an ace-caliber pitcher right away, who still has two years of control, to a team that will see José Quintana, Luis Severino, and Adrian Houser become free-agents after the 2024 season.
This could be a scenario where the Mets meet the White Sox asking price of “three premium prospects” to get their true ace for the coming years.
