GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease said he received a call from general manager Chris Getz on Tuesday morning.
“(He) kind of gave me a heads up, just said there were rumors going around,” Cease said.
As a fresh round of trade speculation popped up, the right-hander went to work Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds.
He looked the sharpest he has this spring. And that’s saying something.
Cease struck out eight in 3 1/3 innings in the 14-1 victory at Goodyear Ballpark. He allowed one run on two hits and walked one batter in the 63-pitch outing. He has a 2.16 ERA in three Cactus League starts with 14 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings.
Cease was a popular player in trade talks all offseason. That buzz seemed to tail off shortly after spring training began. But as the season draws closer, reports of talks have resurfaced.
It never crossed his mind that he wouldn’t start Tuesday.
“It just is not something that’s really that big of a deal,” Cease said. “I mean, it’s out of my control. Really, I just want to perform. Either way, I don’t view it as a negative.”
Before the game, manager Pedro Grifol said he doesn’t worry about things like trade speculation.
“I don’t think Cease worries about it too much either,” Grifol said. “He’s the perfect guy for this just because he is where his feet are. I am where my feet are. This is where we are right now. This is what we need to do to prepare ourselves for opening day. We’re doing that.
“If there’s stuff happening around the league, No. 1, I really don’t know about it because I don’t read any of that stuff. But if there is stuff happening around the league, that’s not something we can control anyway.”
Grifol named Cease the team’s opening-day starter well before camp began. Asked if he still expects Cease to be on the hill March 28 against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field, Grifol said, “I don’t know.”
“I mean, how am I supposed to know that?” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen out there. I don’t know where other teams are, what their urgency is. I have no idea.
“I leave that to our major-league scouts, our general manager, the front office. My focus is right here on this team, making sure we’re checking every box. The objectives I feel we need to check before opening day. I’m not focused on that.”
Discussing the topic further Wednesday morning at Camelback Ranch, Cease said: “I’m like a fan with it, just seeing what’s going on — this rumor or that rumor. The only thing I want is to perform well.
“At this point it’s happened so many times in the last couple months, it feels like noise. I definitely see what’s being said and people send me stuff and all that, but if I was overly focused on that, it would be hard to perform. So I just prioritize performance over everything.”
Cease’s focus was squarely on the Reds on Tuesday night. He displayed a 97 mph fastball while striking out two in the first inning.
He allowed a solo home run to Jonathan India in the second, which also included three strikeouts.
Cease struck out two more in the third and finished his day by striking out the one batter he faced in the fourth, Matt McLain.
Overall, it was one of the most complete Cactus League games this spring for the Sox.
Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. homered twice. He had a two-run home run in the third and a solo shot that went over the center-field batter’s eye in the fifth. Third baseman Mike Moustakas had two hits, including a solo home run. Catcher Martín Maldonado (solo) and second baseman Lenyn Sosa (two-run) also homered.
But most of the focus was on Cease, who also displayed a pitch clocked in the 60s that he calls the “slow boy.”
“It’s frustrating because I throw it for a strike really well in my warmups, but I haven’t quite got it in the game,” he said. “But I’m going to keep mixing those in. It’s a lot of fun to throw.”
Cease said Tuesday was what he would want “for any outing.”
Whether that continues to be with the Sox remains to be seen.
“The way I’ve pitched this spring has increased that (interest),” Cease said Wednesday. “I’ve been really locked in. It really just depends on if we’re in a spot, assuming I’m still with the team at the deadline, where we’re in first or hunting for first, I can see me not getting traded.
“There’s obviously the business side where in a lot of scenarios it would make sense. But crazier things have happened. Nothing is written in stone. I’m really not in the business of predicting. I’m just taking the ball every five days.”
Roster cuts continue
The Sox optioned Sosa to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday. He’s 4-for-13 with the one home run, two RBIs and four runs in seven Cactus League games this spring.
Sosa hit .201 with six home runs and 14 RBIs in 52 games with the Sox in 2023.
With the move, 50 players remain in camp: 29 pitchers, four catchers, eight infielders and nine outfielders.
