It gets even better, because the Orioles still have the top farm system in baseball, with the top overall prospect Jackson Holliday expected to join established players like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson at some point this upcoming season.

However, the main talking point when it comes to the Orioles is the pitching staff. That was the downfall of them in the postseason against the Rangers, and there is still no real ace atop the staff unless Grayson Rodriguez puts it all together. Even a middle of the rotation type of arm would help a lot.

Even though the Orioles emerged as contender s this season, it does not seem as if ownership or the front office plan to spend on starting pitching in free agency, despite arms like Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and others being available. So that means the Orioles will have to turn to the trade market to improve the rotation.

Names like Corbin Burnes and Shane Bieber stick out, but they are one-year rentals. For a team that has a long-term view when it comes to contending, a player with two years of control left in Dylan Cease makes a lot more sense.

The Orioles have been mentioned as a top contender if Dylan Cease were to get traded, and they should absolutely pull the trigger on a trade with the White Sox. The Orioles have the prospects to beat any offer another team can make with the White Sox, they have players who are going to be blocked from making the majors, and it would help them contend over the next two years to make a deal.

Orioles trade Jordan Westburg and Heston Kjerstad to White Sox for Dylan Cease

This is a significant package for the Orioles to give up for Dylan Cease, but it makes sense. The White Sox are looking for two top prospects in a deal for the starting pitcher, and this would fit the bill without completely gutting the farm system as well.

Heston Kjerstad is the No. 24 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He is the No. 3 prospect in the Orioles system behind Jackson Holliday and Colton Cowser. Baltimore will not give up Jackson Holliday in any trade, and he will be on the team this season. However, it would make sense to deal Heston Kjerstad. The Orioles have the outfield covered for this season in with Anthony Santander, Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins. Baltimore would like to preserve organizational depth in the outfield, but dealing Kjerstad would still leave Colton Cowser as an outfield prospect that could fill in.

While Baltimore could deal with the loss of Kjerstad, the loss of Jordan Westburg would hurt more. There is less of a direct replacement for Jordan Westburg at second base. However, there could be a solution like plugging Ramon Urias in that spot, or possibly moving Gunnar Henderson over from shortstop once Holliday makes it to the majors.

You have to give something to get something, and giving up Jordan Westburg and Kjerstad to get Cease in the rotation would make a lot of sense, especially with the big left field in Camden Yards after the renovations a few years ago. This trade would help the Orioles for the next two years, while not severely hurting their minor league depth.