Dylan Cease
Team Control Years Left: 2
2024 Projected Salary: $8.8MM
Dylan Cease has been linked to the Braves a lot this offseason. I'm sure it primarily has to do with his mustache vs. Spencer Strider's mustache. The Braves have already done some business with the White Sox this offseason when they sent Michael Soroka and four others to Chicago for left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer.
Dylan Cease finished second in Cy Young voting just two seasons ago. Granted, he didn't follow up with the season White Sox fans had hoped for but he still posted a 4.58 ERA over 177 innings. His 3.72 FIP indicates there may have been some bad luck, but it's baseball... luck is always bouncing things one way or the other, isn't it?
Cease has a 3.83 career ERA over 123 starts and 658.0 innings. He has struck out 10.8 batters per nine over the course of his career with a 10.9 mark last season. He has a tendency to get a little wild, walking 4.0 batters per nine throughout his career (and in 2023), and leading the league in wild pitches in 2021 and 2023.
Nonetheless, Cease has elite talent and is entering his age-28 season. Imagine both Strider's and Cease's mustaches accounting for 40% of the rotation next season. With two years left under team control, Cease would be an exciting addition to the rotation.