The Reds have engaged in conversations with the White Sox regarding right-hander this offseason, per . Cease, 28 this month, has been among the most discu sed trade targets of the offseason to this point, with Chicago GM that theres no club in the Juan Soto Jersey majors without at least some level of interest in the right-handers services. Wittenmyer goes on to caution that nothing concrete has developed from the discu sions between the sides at this point. The fit certainly makes sense for the Reds. The right-hander is coming off something of a down season in 2023 during which he posted a fairly pedestrian 4.58 ERA, though his 3.72 FIP, elevated .330 BABIP, and unusually low 69.4% strand rate all indicate there may have been some bad luck baked into those results. The idea that Cease may be closer to a front-of-the-rotation arm than his 2023 results indicate is backed up by his phenomenal 2022 campaign, during which he posted a sterling 2.20 ERA with a 3.10 FIP while striking out a whopping 30.4% of batters faced. Overall, Cease has pitched to a 3.54 ERA (121 ERA+) with a 3.40 FIP in 97 starts since the start of the 2021 season, striking out 29.8% of batters faced while walking 10.1% along the way. That sort of playoff-caliber starter would provide a major boost to a Reds club that struggled to a rotation ERA of 5.43 this year, bottom three in the majors ahead of only Oakland and Colorado. The clubs situation isnt quite as dire as that figure may make it seem; the club has an interesting group of young starters headlined by and that also includes the likes of , , , and . The club also recently landed right-hander on a last week, fortifying their rotation depth. That being said, the group offers little certainty aside from Greene, and the addition of a frontline starter such as Cease would take pre sure off the clubs younger arms as they look to establish themselves as big league starters. Cease is far from the only arm the club has looked into who could fill this role. Cincinnati has reportedly a deal for right-hander with the Guardians while also in Rays righty . While Cease figures to cost more in terms of prospect capital more than either of those two alternatives, hes the only one of the trio controllable beyond the 2024 campaign. He also figures to be the cheapest to acquire from a financial perspective, as Cease is by MLBTR contributor to received just $8.8MM in his penultimate trip through arbitration. By contrast, Bieber is projected for a $12.2MM salary in 2024 while Glasnows salary for next season is locked in at $25MM. The Reds are far from the only team engaged on Cease. While Getzs remark that all 29 other clubs have interest in Ceases services is surely at least somewhat hyperbolic, the right-hander has garnered plenty of interest this winter with the , , , , and among the clubs to show interest in the hurler so far this offseason. The Braves have also been connected to Cease frequently over the past several weeks, though more recent reports have . Even so, the market for Cease is clearly robust, and there have been that a deal for the righty may not come together until the top of the rotation market- which includes the likes of and has been sorted out. Cease is not the only player Wittenmyer suggests the Reds have interest in, as he also connects the club to infielder . That the Reds have interest in Candelarios services is nothing new, as the sides last month at the outset of free agency. At the time, it seemed likely that the clubs interest in Candelario may have been predicated on a trade from the clubs glut of infielders that already includes , , , , , and . While such a deal has not yet materialized, it seems po sible the clubs plans may not be so simple. While not discu sing the switch-hitting Candelario specifically, Krall told reporters (as relayed by Wittenmyer) recently that the club could add a switch-hitter that plays the infield to their positional mix, with such a move allowing the Reds to push Steer to the outfield more often. Candelario, 30, would add some balance to the clubs righty-dominated infield mix. Only De La Cruz (a fellow switch-hitter) ever bats from the left side among Cincinnatis bevy of young infielders, though lefties and both help to balance the overall lineup somewhat as members of the clubs outfield mix. Candelario, who hit .251/.336/.471 overall last season with the Nationals and Cubs, could be in line of a three- or four-year deal this offseason according to Wittenmyer. Thats in line with MLBTRs prediction of a four-year, $70MM deal that earned Candelario the #13 spot on our annual . The Angels, Diamondbacks, and are among the other clubs Candelario has been connected to this offseason, though its worth noting that Arizona subsequently landed in a trade with the Mariners, likely taking them out of the sweepstakes for the third baseman. Despite that interest, Wittenmyer suggests that Candelarios market, like that of many upper-level positional free agents, has been held up by the bidding on two-way superstar . Ohtani has commanded the attention of big-market clubs such as the Jays, Angels, Dodgers, Cubs and Giants to this point in the offseason, and as such its hardly a surprise that the leagues other top free agent hitters prefer to wait out Ohtanis free agency in case one of those teams looks to pivot after mi sing out on the superstar. Gerrit Cole Jersey
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