Details behind the Dylan Cease trade

GLENDALE, Ariz. — General manager Chris Getz felt a threshold had to be met before the Chicago White Sox could part ways with ace Dylan Cease.

“We had a lot of conversations with a lot of teams and there were definitely ups and downs throughout the offseason,” Getz said on a video conference call Thursday. “There are teams with ever-changing needs, there’s free agency, and until (Wednesday) we didn’t feel like a deal that we felt like was on the table.”

met on Wednesday Sox trade Cease to San Diego Padres for right-handed pitchers Drew Thorpe, Jairo Iriarte and Steven Wilson and outfielder Samuel Zavala.

“It’s kind of bittersweet with Dylan Cease walking out the door,” Getz said. “It’s been a pleasure for me and the organization to watch him grow both personally and as a player. But we felt it was the right time to take this step to move our organization forward.”

Thorpe (No. 5), Zavala (No. 7) and Iriarte (No. 8) were ranked among the top 10 prospects in the Padres organization by MLB.com. Wilson has a 3.48 ERA in 102 career games (one start) across two major league seasons.

“Three of these players have a very good opportunity to be on our 2024 team at some point,” Getz said. “Wilson is plug and play for where he is in his career. Drew Thorpe, who more or less knocks on the door, is quite flamboyant.

“If you look at Wilson, Thorpe and Iriarte, we think there’s a good chance they’ll be on our major league team at some point. “And then with the addition of Zavala, who is a very young player (19), I look forward to watching his development throughout the year.”

Cease’s name was mentioned in trade speculation throughout the offseason. He silenced the noise and had a strong spring with a 2.16 ERA, 14 strikeouts and 8 1/3 innings pitched. As rumors swirled on TuesdayHe struck out eight in 3⅓ innings against the Cincinnati Reds.

“He was very effective in spring training, looked very good,” Getz said. “The last game against Cincinnati was impressive and there was a lot of excitement in that game. Unsurprisingly, shortly thereafter and the next day, the teams really stepped up, especially in San Diego.

“They’re heading to Korea right now (to open the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 20) so there was definitely an urgency on their side. “With all the different factors and everything coming to a head yesterday, we felt like it was a good time to move towards this trade.”

Getz called the timing a “perfect storm.”

“The million-dollar question is, if you build this into the season, if you take it towards the deadline, what kind of a comeback does this look like,” Getz said. “This is a risk. Were we willing to take it? Of course, I was willing to incorporate that into the season. But there’s no denying that a lot can happen on a baseball field during a season. You weigh that risk with the offer San Diego gave us, and we felt like it was something that probably couldn’t be met if we took that offer into the season.

“We had a very motivated team on the San Diego Padres that wanted to start the year with Dylan Cease. And I got that. It made sense for both parties. I’m confident it’s a deal that will help the San Diego Padres, and it will help the Chicago White Sox as well.” I’m sure there’s an agreement.”

Trade, with Thursday’s announcement Michael Kopech was heading towards the arenaMichael Soroka opens up slots in a rotation that should include Erick Fedde and Chris Flexen.

“We actually feel pretty good about where we are in terms of being able to return those hits effectively,” Getz said. “But there are some different avenues we can take to get more confident about that or to improve our roster further and we’ll have a seat at the table. We’ve got some time before opening day to really evaluate where we are and if there’s an opportunity to improve our situation we’ll do that.”

Wednesday’s trade was a relief, as were season-ending deals Aaron Bummer is going to the Atlanta Braves And Gregory Santos transferred to Seattle MarinersIt helps with minor league depth.

Thorpe had a 2.52 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 23 starts with Class-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in the New York Yankees system in 2023. Iriarte had a 3.49 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 27 games (21 starts) in Class A last season. Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio in the Padres system. Zavala spent most of the 2023 season in Class A Lake Elsinore in the Padres system and finished with 14 homers, 71 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

“Being able to include multiple high-ceiling players in a deal is important for any organization,” Getz said. “And having three senior arms not too far away from helping your major league club was very appealing. “There is added influence, depth and control within our organization and that will certainly provide us with a lot of value.”