3 Angels players the White Sox would demand in a Dylan Cease trade

At the 2023 trade deadline, the Los Angeles Angels struck a deal with the White Sox, landing Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in exchange for their top two prospects. The deal failed spectacularly for the Angels, but they could be in on another White Sox starter this offseason.

Jon Heyman of the NY Post said on BR Live that the Angels are one of the teams he has heard that are in on White Sox starter Dylan Cease. With new GM Chris Getz saying that the White Sox are open to dealing anybody this offseason, Cease, of course, has garnered tons of interest around the league. Still, the Angels being mentioned is pretty noteworthy.

The Halos being linked to a top-tier starting pitcher is notable because the team which already had a subpar farm system to begin with, gutted it even further at the trade deadline. It's hard to picture the Angels having the assets, but it's possible there are more players the White Sox like.

While Chicago will presumably be asking for players like Zach Neto, Logan O'Hoppe, and Reid Detmers, but the Angels will presumably keep them off the table. While those players will be unavailable, there are three players in particular Chicago will be asking for. Any combination of the three could make some sense.

1) Patrick Sandoval

The Angels are in a bit of a weird spot with Patrick Sandoval. In 2022, he was magnificent, pitching to a sub-3.00 ERA and looking like a legitimate frontline starter. This past season, however, Sandoval took a pretty clear step back, and how the organization views him is a mystery.

With three years of team control and a solid track record, Sandoval would hold a ton of value on the market. The Angels had to give up their top prospects to land a rental in Giolito, and Sandoval would be worth more than that right-hander.

For Chicago, Sandoval gives them a cheaper option than Cease, and one that has one additional year of control. For the Angels, trading Sandoval would obviously hurt, but they'd be replacing him with a guy who was the Cy Young runner up in 2022, and has been extremely durable.

Of course, a deal wouldn't be just Sandoval alone. The Angels would have to sweeten the pot.