White Sox P Dylan Cease: 'I just don’t know where I’ll end up'

 

[February 17, 2024]  Dylan Cease is in camp with the Chicago White Sox in Glendale, Ariz., introducing himself to his new teammates on the rebuilding club.

He knows it's a scene he could be repeating next week, next month or at the trade deadline in the summer as the White Sox intend on dealing their ace right-hander when they get a suitable offer.

"I just don't know where I'll end up," he told USA Today for an article published Friday.

New general manager Chris Getz apparently is asking a hefty price for the 28-year-old Cease, who is coming off a subpar season but finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2022. Getz talked to a variety of contenders in the offseason but wasn't able to complete a deal.

Getz has kept Cease apprised of trade talks and told USA Today that the right-hander has handled the looming trade well.

"I can't think of a situation too similar to this," Getz said, "but the unique thing about Dylan is just the makeup of the player. He's very professional. He's very even-keeled. Moments are not too big.

"The art of minimizing the noise, Dylan is excellent at that. So the uncertainty of being moved or not moved, I don't worry about it with Dylan as perhaps I would someone else."

For now, Cease said he is focused on preparing for the season and isn't analyzing where the pitcher dominoes might fall with Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery still unsigned free agents.

"That's over my head. I'm just here to execute pitches," he told the publication.

Whichever team acquires Cease will get a pitcher who was 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA over 33 starts last season. He struck out 214 batters in 177 innings -- his third straight campaign with 200-plus strikeouts.

And he'll come at a bargain price and team control through the 2025 season. He signed a one-year, $8 million deal in January to avoid arbitration and is arbitration eligible one more season before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

Cease made his major league debut with the White Sox in 2019 and has a career record of 43-35, a 3.83 ERA and 792 strikeouts in 658 innings over 123 games (all starts).

As long as he is wearing a White Sox uniform, he plans to be a clubhouse presence.

"It's one of those things where why wouldn't you give everything you had?" Cease said. "In a social sense, I've got nothing to lose by making a friendship or a connection with somebody. ... While I'm here, I'm going to be a part of the team and enjoy everybody."

If he winds up staying with the White Sox until the trade deadline -- or even beyond -- he told USA Today he'd be OK with that.

"There are a lot of positives about staying here," Cease said. "I've got a lot of friends. I've made a lot of good relationships. I like the city of Chicago. But I understand it's a business. At the end of the day, I just want to perform. That's why I'm here."

--Field Level Media

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