3 deals the Dodgers could get done during 2024 Winter Meetings

Edge out the Braves by making a trade for Dylan Cease

The Dylan Cease news has been in a frustrating start-stop pattern over the last week, with Jon Morosi reporting that Cease trade talk was speeding up and a deal seemed imminent, only for that claim to be refuted not long after. The discourse has almost completely stalled since then. The Dodgers were early to jump on the possibility of getting Cease in LA, and although it seems like their name might be fading in wake of what seems like fierce competition from the Braves, they shouldn't be counted out entirely.

Blindsiding the Braves by out-bidding them for Cease would help the Dodgers drastically shift the balance of power in the NL. He would also help their ailing rotation that currently only features Bobby Miller and Walker Buehler, who is coming back from his second Tommy John surgery, is in need not only of an undisputed ace, but three more arms and overall depth. If the Dodgers could help facilitate a return to form after a stellar 2022 and a disappointing 2023, Cease could slot in nicely in any one of LA's first three rotation spots.

Then they can sniff out the rest of the trade market, or perhaps take a gamble on Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell depending on how their Ohtani/Yamamoto chases go.