According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the New York Yankees are “still open” to acquiring starting pitcher Dylan Cease in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, but they won’t part with a specific prospect to make it happen.

The New York Yankees are still open to acquiring Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease, but they refuse to part with prized outfield prospect Spencer Jones.

The Yankees also rebuffed the Milwaukee Brewers’ request for Jones before the Brewers sent Corbin Burnes to Baltimore. 

1) It makes sense that the Yankees would still be open to acquiring Cease. One of the best strikeout artists in the game, he could join a rotation with Gerrit Cole, Marcus Stroman and Carlos Rodon in it. As good as that rotation could be, there are injury concerns for both Stroman and Rodon, and there isn’t as much depth behind that group.

2) Even as enticing as acquiring Cease can be, there are questions about him as well. The 27-year-old Cease struggled in 2023, just as the White Sox did. He went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA. He’s still an elite strikeout artist, fanning 214 batters in 177.0 innings. Lifetime, he’s 43-35 with a 4.58 ERA and he did finish second in the AL Cy Young voting in 2022.

3) As for Jones, he is the No. 84 prospect in all of baseball entering 2024. The following comes from his MLB.com prospect profile:

Jones offers an intriguing combination of power and uncommon athleticism for a 6-foot-6, 235-pounder. His bat speed, strength and leverage produce well-above-average raw power and exit velocities, though there are some concerns about how much of his pop will play in games. He rarely turns on pitches and must prove he can handle quality velocity on the inner half at higher levels. His naturally long left-handed stroke results in a lot of strikeouts, including 155 with a 29 percent whiff rate in 2023.

Jones shows average speed out of the batter’s box and is a solid runner once underway…

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