Alas, the Yankees, despite all the trade speculation surrounding them and Cease, were unable to pull off a trade with the Chicago White Sox. Instead, it was the San Diego Padres that capitalized on Cease’s availability, securing the services of another mid-to-top of the rotation starter in exchange for two top 100 prospects, a big-league reliever, and a teenage outfielder who tore the cover off the ball in the low minors.

At the end of the day, the Yankees simply “couldn’t match up” to the offer the Padres sent the White Sox for Dylan Cease’s services, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman noted that Cease was “the perfect one” for the Yankees due to his strong strikeout rate, affordability, and team control, but in the end, they did not want to cough up the prospect capital necessary.

One would think that any trade involving Cease would have necessitated the involvement of at least two of Spencer Jones, Roderick Arias, and Chase Hampton, and the Yankees simply did not want to pull the trigger.

 Yankees pitching outlook for 2024 MLB season

With Gerrit Cole set to miss at least one to two months due to an elbow injury, it would have been a godsend for the Yankees rotation had they pulled off a trade for Dylan Cease. But now, the Yankees will have to make do with the personnel they have unless a last minute change of heart pushes them to sign Blake Snell.

With Cole out, Carlos Rodon is expected to front the rotation, and he has Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman right behind him to provide some support. Clarke Schmidt is expected to build off of his first season in the rotation in 2023, while Will Warren looks like the most likely candidate to round out their rotation.