Why the Braves may stay away
To start. Scott Boras. The Braves do not usually go after Scott Boras' clients. The last client of his I believe the Braves signed was Dallas Keuchel and that was a unique situation. Outside of that, the relationship with Boras and the Braves has been nonexistent. Some could even point to the fact that the Braves traded one of Boras' clients, Shea Langeliers before he ever made it to the majors. However, that feels much more like a coincidence than anything of note.
The Braves have looked to find players to add to their core that they could lock up. The last two offseasons have seen the Braves trade for Matt Olson and Sean Murphy and immediately sign them to extensions. Boras clients do not normally sign extensions. They will usually go to free agency and go year to year in arbitration.
This means the Braves would probably only have Cease for two seasons. Sure, if you win a World Series with Cease during that time then all is well. However, the Braves have been cautious about moving their valuable prospects for someone for a short-term run. They prefer to only move their assets if they are getting an asset in return they can lock down.
Then there is the fact that starting pitching is always a wanted commodity and there will always be plenty of suitors for a young pitcher. The Baltimore Orioles could use a true front-line starter to go with their young core. The Arizona Diamondbacks just made a run to the World Series and would have benefited from one more starter.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have the assets and questions in the rotation. LA has been rumored to be very interested in trading for Cease. The New York Mets could use a running mate to pair with Senga. The St Louis Cardinals just need a warm body every 5th day and Cease would provide that and much more.
There are just a few teams that could consider moving for Dylan Cease. I could name plenty more because any contender would be silly to not at least consider adding him to their clubhouse for 2024 and 2025.
This is why the Braves may stay away because a bidding war will be tough. The Braves farm system is thin. Of course, it is mostly a good thing because there are several players on the major league team that came up through the farm. It does make it tough to put together a trade, especially if it gets to the point of a full-on bidding war.
However, if they did join in, what would a deal for Cease look like?