MLB rumors: Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease listed as possible trade candidates
12/10/2024 01:07 PM
The cost of living is going up, and so is the cost of MLB starting pitching. Due to the expensive free agent market, hurlers like Framber Valdez could get dealt from their teams.
Expect contending teams to “listen” to offers for their pitchers, via MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
“Multiple MLB team execs tell me prices for FA pitchers are high, and relatively few clubs are willing to pay them,” Morosi said. “This creates incentives for *contenders* to listen to trade offers on their starting pitchers. Framber Valdez is one. Dylan Cease is another.”
The headlining move on the starting pitching market thus far was Blake Snell’s five-year, $182 million agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers in November. Four-time All-Star Corbin Burnes, Japanese League sensation Roki Sasaki, and 2020 All-MLB First Teamer Max Fried are only a few of the options left in a stacked free agent class at the position.
However, it may be more cost-effective for teams without tons of money to send prospects and/or veterans for pitchers who are already under contract than to hand out Snell-like deals to these players.
How likely is it for Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease to get traded?
Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown isn’t desperate to deal Valdez, but he’s open to conversation, via The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara.
"We're not trying to aggressively move anybody out the door," Brown said Monday evening at the Hilton Anatole. "But if somebody wants to talk — that's part of being at the winter meetings.”
The Winter Meetings run through Thursday, opening up plenty of opportunities for teams to make intriguing offers. However, Houston is one of many contending teams that doesn’t need to rely on the trade market, as its roster is already solid.
"Sometimes guys will think outside the box and say, 'Hey, would you guys do this guy or that guy?' … If it doesn't make sense, we wouldn't do it,” Brown continued. “So it really would have to make sense. Because right now we're a good team, and we're not motivated to move any of these guys."
As for Cease, the San Diego Padres acquired him from the Chicago White Sox in May for three of their top-10 prospects and right-handed reliever Steven Wilson. The 28-year-old is on a one-year, $13 million arbitration deal with the Padres in 2025, so any team that wants to trade for him would have to risk a one-year rental. Additionally, San Diego likely wouldn’t let him go for cheap, considering that it gave up high-potential prospects to get him.
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