3 reasons why the St. Louis Cardinals should target Dylan Cease this season

The White Sox are trending downward after a disappointing 2022 season

Going into 2022, the White Sox were the favorites to win the AL Central title by quite a bit, and it was pretty much a sure thing that they would be in the playoffs. After finishing the season 81-81 and 11 games back of the Cleveland Guardians, that tune has changed quite a bit.

The Guardians are a young team that figures to improve again this year. The Twins were able to bring back Carlos Correa and made other improvements to their roster this year. What did the White Sox do in response? Well, they signed Andrew Benintendi and Mike Clevinger, the latter is facing multiple allegations that were brought up this offseason.

Multiple players within the White Sox clubhouse have already stressed a need for better unity and communication this coming season, and former long-time slugger Jose Abreu said the team "wasn't a real family" and needed changes organizationally.

For a club that has failed to meet expectations in recent years, this turmoil could compound itself if the club does not start off well in 2023. There are question marks surrounding their pitching staff, and there are a few spots in their lineup that could use improvements, so it's worth monitoring this situation over the coming months.

Should the situation really turn sour, trading someone like Cease and multiple other pieces on the roster could jump-start a rebuild and put them in a really good position for future years. Even if things just don't go as planned, they could retool a lot of their roster with a Cease trade to the Cardinals.

For now, this idea is just that, an idea. But if we know anything about baseball, it's that there are always a few teams that fail to meet expectations, and when that happens multiple years in a row, it can brew a fire sale. Should that happen in Chicago, the Cardinals better aggressively pursue Dylan Cease.