White Sox pitching staff still a work in progress after Cease trade
Dylan Cease was the obvious choice to be the White Sox's Opening Day starter.
Scratch that, he was traded to the Padres Wednesday night.
Given all of the reclamation projects and unknowns jockeying for position in the Sox's rotation this spring, the Cease deal elevated Michael Kopech to No. 1 starter status, correct?
Far from it.
A day after dealing Cease to San Diego for three prospects and 29-year-old relief pitcher Steven Wilson, White Sox general manager Chris Getz said Kopech was moving to the bullpen.
Needless to say, the Sox's starting rotation is in a state of flux with the March 28 season opener looming.
As he showed last year while going 5-12 with a 5.43 ERA before having right knee surgery in late September, Kopech is not a No. 1 arm.
Still, he's had success before and seemed to be higher regarded than newcomers Michael Soroka, Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen, and Jared Shuster. Better than converted relief pitcher Garret Crochet, who missed the entire 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and pitched only 12⅔ innings out of the White Sox's bullpen last year.
Maybe Kopech will get another shot to start down the road, but he pitched poorly in spring training. Allowing 7 runs (6 earned) on 6 hits (2 home runs) and 6 walks over 7 Cactus League innings sealed the right-hander's fate.
“We know that Michael has the capabilities to get anyone out in this game, based on his stuff,” Getz said Thursday. “However, being a starting pitcher and a desire to go deeper into games and being more efficient is something that we were aiming for. So now this transition, we hope the smaller bite of the apple, so to speak, in reliever outings, whether it be one or two innings, is going to be something that's easier to accomplish for Michael and be better for the White Sox.”
As for Cease, he had been attracting trade interest since November.
After making his final start for the Sox in a Tuesday night exhibition game against the Reds and piling up 8 strikeouts while allowing 1 run in 3⅓ innings, San Diego made an offer Getz could not refuse.
In addition to Wilson, the White Sox are getting three higher-end prospects — right-handed pitchers Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte and 19-year-old outfielder Samuel Zavala.
“We feel like it's a very good haul of talent, both that can impact our major-league club right out of the gate and then plenty of opportunities to really get some impactful players throughout the complete deal,” Getz said. “It's a little bittersweet having Dylan Cease out the door, he's a kid, well he was a kid when we acquired him. To watch him grow up, both as a person and as a player has been a joy for myself and the organization. But we felt like it was the right time to make this move to better our organization moving forward.”
Getz said Wilson goes right into the Sox's bullpen. The right-hander was 5-4 with a 3.48 ERA and 1 save in 102 relief appearances with the Padres over the last two seasons.
Thorpe might be in the Sox's rotation when training camp breaks.
In 23 starts with Class AA Somerset and high A Hudson Valley in the Yankees' system last season, he was 14-2 with a 2.52 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 139⅓ innings.
The 23-year-old Thorpe was pushing for a spot in San Diego's rotation this spring while pitching 7 scoreless innings and striking out six.
“Very polished right-handed starter, an elite changeup and he's got strong pitchability,” Getz said. “He's performed throughout his minor-league career and he has been nothing short of excellent in spring training. We feel like he's going to be part of our starting rotation for years to come.”