(670 The Score) The rebuilding White Sox have traded their ace, as they dealt right-hander Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday evening, the clubs announced.
In return, the Padres agreed to send 23-year-old right-hander Drew Thorpe, 19-year-old outfielder Samuel Zavala, 22-year-old right-hander Jairo Iriarte and reliever Steven Wilson back to the White Sox. Thorpe was the Padres' fifth-ranked prospect, Zavala was their seventh-best and Iriarte was their eighth-best, according to MLB Pipeline.
Thorpe was a second-round pick of the Yankees in 2022. He had a 2.52 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 182 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings across two levels in 2023. That included a 1.48 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 44 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.
Zavala hit .243 with 14 homers, 77 RBIs and a .797 OPS in 115 games split between Class-A and High-A last season.
Iriarte had a 3.49 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 128 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings split across High-A and Double-A in 2023. That included a 4.30 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 29 1/3 innings at Double-A.
The 29-year-old Wilson has two MLB seasons under his belt, posting a 3.48 ERA in 102 appearances across 2022 and 2023.
Cease, 28, was on the trade market throughout the offseason, a possibility he had often acknowledged throughout spring training. White Sox general manager Chris Getz informed Cease on Tuesday that he was in consideration for a trade, as talks were heating up as the start of the regular season looms on March 28.
Cease is 43-35 with a 3.83 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in five MLB seasons. His best campaign was in 2022, when he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA and finished second in the American League Cy Young race. Cease had a down season with a 4.58 ERA in 2023 but is still viewed across MLB as a front-line starter. He’s under contract control through 2025 and is due $8 million in 2024.
The White Sox acquired Cease and outfielder Eloy Jimenez in a trade with the Cubs in 2017 that was centered around left-hander Jose Quintana heading from the South Side to the North Side.