The New York Yankees are still on the hunt for a new starting pitcher, and one recent mock trade has them giving up the farm for a new right-hander to add to their rotation.
Jim Duquette recently put together a mock trade proposal on Baseball Night in New York, where the Yankees landed White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease.
Acquiring Cease would be the power move that brings New York to the forefront of the AL. However, acquiring the 2022 Cy Young Award runner-up would cost the Yankees a slew of valuable assets.
Yankees land Dylan Cease in mock trade
In exchange for Cease, the Yankees would send the White Sox a trade package comprised of RHP Will Warren, LHP Brock Selvidge, and two top-10 prospects, RHP Chase Hampton and OF Jasson Dominguez.
This lopsided mock trade would see New York sacrifice two top-100 prospects and two top-10 players for Cease. While Cease might be a game-changing pitcher, trading away such talent would be a tough ask for Yankees GM Brian Cashman.
What would Cease bring to the Yankees?
Cease would bring an elite quality to the Yankees’ pitching rotation. He went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 214 strikeouts in 177 innings across 33 starts in 2023 — a down year compared to his 2022 campaign, but still a quality season nevertheless.
Cease has two more years of arbitration eligibility before he will hit the open market in 2026. His salary for the 2024 season is estimated at $8.3 million, per Spotrac.
While Cease might be an excellent pitcher, the asking price in this mock trade is too high to justify. The Yankees would be better off holding onto their assets and foregoing the opportunity to acquire Cease in this scenario.
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Trading away two top prospects would be a shocking move
Trading away star prospects like Dominguez and Hampton would be a shocking move for the Bronx Bombers.
Though Dominguez is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, he is still a valuable piece of the Yankees’ future and could make an impact next season. His recovery process is going “according to plan,” giving Dominguez a chance to return after the trade deadline next summer. Dominguez flashed his potential in his short stint in the major league last season, recording four home runs, seven RBIs, and a .258 BA in eight games played.
In the case of Hampton, the 22-year-old righty is the top pitching prospect in the Yankees’ system after recording 145 Ks in 106.2 innings last year. Both Hampton and Dominguez are prospects that the Bombers should want to hold onto and continue to develop rather than shipping them off for veteran big-leaguers — unless the deal was simply too good to pass on.
