White Sox general manager spoke with reporters today and discu sed some of the clubs plans for the rest of the offseason and the upcoming campaign, with . and of among those to relay the information. Getz acknowledged that has received plenty of interest from other clubs but said that the Sox wont trade him unle s they feel the deal makes the club better. Elsewhere in the rotation, he said that will come into the season preparing to be a starter and that is expected to be a starter as well. In terms of the lineup, he said that they dont have an established starting right fielder as of right now and are open to external additions. Cease, 28, has posted excellent results over the past three years and has been incredibly popular on the trade market in recent months. Teams such as the Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Cardinals, Red Sox, Mets, Braves and Reds have all been connected to his market this winter. Some of those clubs have since pivoted to other moves but the rumors around the righty have continued to swirl, with many in the industry still expecting a trade before the start of the season. But from the point of view of the Sox, they dont feel they have to make a deal. Weve had [trade] conversations about Dylan [Cease] but were not going to move someone unle s theres a benefit, Getz said. The righty is still under club control for two years, so the Sox dont have to move him immediately if they dont want to. But his trade value wont get any higher at this point, making it sensible for them to take the best offer they can get at the moment. By the time the trade deadline rolls around, they will only be marketing a year and a half of his services and the number of suitors might dwindle if some interested clubs fall out of contention. Theres also the ever-present risk of an injury sapping Cease of his trade value. It was back in December that the Sox were being patient with the market, seeing if the interest in Cease picked up after signed and the clubs that mi sed on him pivoted. Yamamoto has now signed with the Dodgers, leaving and as the top free agents available but Cease one of the top trade candidates. Pitchers like , and have also been in trade rumors but its unclear how open their respective clubs are to offers. In the case of Cease, the Sox have reportedly been setting a high asking price, which is perhaps why no deal has been consummated as of yet. It was last month that the Sox asked the Reds for four of their top prospects, which seemed to put an end to the discu sions. The Reds agreed to terms with free agent on a deal about a week after that report. Whether the Sox will back down from that apparent lofty asking price, or some other club will bite the bullet and meet it, remains to be seen. The high level of interest and the asking price are both reflections of his immense talent. Over the past three campaigns, he has taken the ball 97 times and produced an earned run average of 3.54 in that time, along with a 29.8% strikeout rate. FanGraphs considered him to be worth a combined 12.6 wins above replacement in those years, the eighth-best tally out of all big league pitchers. His ERA jumped to 4.58 ERA in 2023 but there seems to be little concern about that. His 27.3% strikeout rate was also a Billy Martin Jersey couple of ticks below the previous two seasons but he was also held back by his .330 batting average on balls in play and 69.4% strand rate, both of which are on the unlucky side. His 3.72 FIP and 4.10 SIERA suggest he was closer to his previous self than the ERA may indicate. In addition to his skills, hes also attractive due to his contractual situation. While frontline starters can secure nine-figure guarantees as free agents, Cease is still in his arbitration years. He is projected by for a salary of $8.8MM and will be due one more raise before hes slated for free agency after 2025. Whether the Sox eventually move Cease or not, they will have plenty of question marks in their rotation. Pitchers like , , and will be in the mix for jobs but theres uncertainty with each one of them. Fedde is coming off a tremendous showing in the Korea Baseball Organization but struggled in his MLB career prior to that. Soroka was mediocre in 2023 after mi sing most of the previous three seasons due to injuries. Kopech and Tou saint have battled significant control problems in their respective careers. It appears the club is keeping an open mind with their rotation mix, with Crochet set to be built up this year. The lefty has previously expre sed an interest in return to a rotation gig and will apparently get some kind of shot in the months to come. Now 24 years old, Crochet was drafted by the Sox in 2020 and was quickly launched to the majors, making his debut later that same year as a reliever. In 2021, he stuck with the big league bullpen and posted an ERA of 2.82 over 54 appearances. There was some consideration of stretching him out as a starter going into 2022 but he required Tommy John surgery that April and mi sed the entire campaign. He returned to the Sox last year as a reliever but mi sed three months of the season due to shoulder inflammation and eventually made just 13 appearances. Due to his limited workload in recent years, it may not be po sible to fully stretch him out in just one season, something Getz acknowledged. Due to the canceled minor leagues in 2020, the Tommy John layoff and then the shoulder troubles, the southpaw has thrown just 73 big league innings over the past four years, as well as another 12 1/3 on rehab a signments in 2023. That would make it difficult for him to suddenly jump to 200 or even 150 innings in 2024, but the club will nonethele s give him some runway to see how it plays out. He believes he can be a starter. Weve seen him be a starter in the past. So we are going to go into spring prepared to stretch him out and well make adjustments along the way if need be, Getz said. He hasnt started in a couple years. So, its going to take a little bit of time to appropriately stretch him out. We are going in with the intention for him to be a starter in 2024. Crochet is eligible for arbitration this winter and is currently slated for free agency after 2026. Also in the rotation mix will be Flexen, with Getz saying they expect starters innings out of him. The righty has worked both as a starter and reliever in recent years, with a disastrous 2023 campaign but better results in the two prior seasons. Over 2021 and 2022, he to sed 317 1/3 innings for the Mariners, with 53 of his 64 appearances coming as a starter. He had a 3.66 ERA in that time, only striking out 16.5% of batters but limiting walks and barrels. But in 2023, he finished with a 6.86 ERA, splitting his time between the Mariners and Rockies. The Sox decided to overlook that rough showing and gave Flexen a $1.75MM guarantee on a big league deal. Though his performance will ultimately have a bearing on his role, the club appears to be planning on slotting him into the rotation mix. Turning away from the rotation, Getz also said the club doesnt have an established right fielder. He mentioned that they have internal options, including non-roster invitees, but that they are looking to make additions. That is a reflection of the poor debut season of , who was a notable prospect coming into 2023 but struggled badly in his first 75 major league games. He batted .216/.257/.314 in his 263 plate appearances and also received poor grades for his defense. That led to tallies of -1.3 wins above replacement from FanGraphs and -1.5 from Baseball Reference. He still has two option years remaining, allowing the club to keep him in the minors if he doesnt show signs of significant improvement. The free agent market still features some notable outfield-capable guys, such as , , , , , , , , and . The trade market could theoretically feature guys such as and , though it would be a surprise if a retooling club like the White Sox gave up significant prospects in any deal. In terms of the internal options who could be battling Cols, has had some good hitting results in the past but is coming off a rough season and is considered a poor defender. was signed to a minor league deal and is a strong defender but weak at the plate. and have been signed to minor league deals as well but both of them have le s than 70 major league plate appearances. Given those internal options, keeping an eye out for upgrades makes sense, whether thats a free agent signing, a trade or even just a waiver claim. Stephen Piscotty Jersey