Can you imagine a Minnesota Twins starting rotation that includes Dylan Cease?

It’s apparently an idea the Twins had at one point this offseason. According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, the Twins “explored trade possibilities” for Chicago’s Cease, Brewers ace Corbin Burnes and “other high-profile” starting pitchers.

Hayes writes that “those talks have proved fruitless thus far” but it is still “possible” Minnesota continues to hunt for a premium starting pitcher after bolstering the organization’s prospect pool through the Jorge Polanco trade.

He did add, however, that at least for now the idea of trading for a frontline starter seems to be “on the back burner.”

Minnesota traded Polanco to Seattle on Monday night and in return they received 20-year-old outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez, who is MLB Pipeline’s No. 79 overall prospect. He’s now one of four Twins in the top 100, just behind outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 42), shortstop Brooks Lee (No. 18) and outfielder Walker Jenkins (No. 10).

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Jan. 25 that Burnes is almost certainly staying with the Brewers, and USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale recently reported that Cease is likely to start the season with the White Sox unless a deal with the Mariners can be struck in the near future.

“If the White Sox can’t complete a trade with the Mariners, they are expected to open the season with Cease,” Nightengale wrote. “They could revisit trade talks with teams towards the July 30 trade deadline or wait to see if a team becomes desperate with a sudden injury.”

What other big names are out there? Would Cleveland deal Shane Bieber to a division rival? Do the Twins think they could turn Toronto’s Alek Manoah back into the All-Star he was in 2022 and not the mess he was in 2023?

Minnesota also acquired right-hander Anthony DeSclafani in the Polanco trade. He projects to compete with Louie Varland for the fifth starter job with the loser opening the season in a long-reliever role. The other four starters will be Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack.

Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Paddack and Varland were all rated in the top 87 of The Athletic’s preseason starting pitcher fantasy rankings. Lopez is 12th, Ryan 40th, Ober 48th, Paddack 65th and Varland is 87th.

Minnesota has a solid starting five right now, but there’s no doubt that a high-end arm would make them better and more resilient to injuries during the long regular season.