What would it cost the Twins to trade for Dylan Cease?

Dylan Cease is clearly on the trade block. The 2022 Cy Young runner-up is under team control through the 2025 season and because of his pedigree and contract the price to get him is apparently a bit higher than what the Orioles paid to get Corbin Burnes from the Brewers.

That's the word from longtime MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports. 

"The Chicago White Sox believe that the Milwaukee Brewers’ return of young lefty D.L. Hall and shortstop Joey Ortiz for Corbin Burnes should be the floor in what they should receive in return for ace Dylan Cease," Nightengale reported Monday. "The Orioles offered basically the same package for Cease, along with another player. Cease, who is earning $8 million this season, however has two years of control compared to Burnes’ one season."

When you break down the Burnes trade, the result was a frontline starter in exchange for Ortiz, who is 25 years old and ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 63 prospect in baseball, along with Hall, a 25-year-old left-handed starter who was a consensus top-100 prospect from 2019 to 2023. The Brewers also received a 2024 draft pick that is currently slotted at No. 34 overall. 

If the Orioles made "basically the same" offer for Cease but it was too low, how much more would a team like the Twins have to offer to pluck him from the White Sox? 

Let's start with a strong infield prospect. That's an easy one as the Twins have Brooks Lee, the 22-year-old pure hitter who is already at Triple-A St. Paul and is considered by MLB Pipeline as the No. 18 prospect in the game. He's a high-end prospect and projects to play third base, second base or shortstop at the MLB level. 

What about a starting pitching prospect? Perhaps their best minor league pitcher is 21-year-old righty Marco Raya, who was the No. 53 overall prospect in Baseball Prospectus' 2023 preseason rankings. Another option might be 2022 second-round pick Connor Prielipp, a lefty who is ranked two spots behind Raya as the No. 7 Twins prospect. 

What about a competitive balance draft pick? Yep, the Twins have one – No. 33 overall – between Round 1 and the Competitive Balance Round A due to Sonny Gray signing with the Cardinals. 

All in all, the Twins have a better shortstop prospect that the Orioles parted with, talented/younger pitching and a better competitive balance pick that they could at least offer Chicago for Cease. 

Maybe the White Sox trading Cease to a division rival is a no-go zone, but if it's even possible, the idea of at least offering a competitive package for him, at least to us, would be a no-brainer if the Twins want to play with the big boys in the American League this summer.