Dylan Cease returned to Chicago for the first time since being traded to the Padres before the start of the season, as he geared up for a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.
Technically for Cease, it's a return to his former team --- the one who initially drafted him in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB entry draft. But all the talk was about the other Chicago team on the South Side.
Since the White Sox got a taste of the postseason in 2020 and 2021, the goal for the team was to return to the dance and make it further. But over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, they failed; the White Sox finished 81-81 and 61-101, respectively, falling short of the playoffs in both seasons.
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What does Cease think about the White Sox's downfall?
"Last year I think that in the minds of a lot of people, we had a really good chance to compete," Cease said. "I think we felt like we had a good chance to compete. We just didn't put it together. We had a really bad year and it obviously kind of led to the need to kinda redo everything.
"I think we just didn't play well. It comes down to did you throw the ball? Did you throw strikes? Did you feel the ball? Did you control the zone? Did you hit? And in a lot of ways we just didn't do a lot of things well in those areas."
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A culmination of injuries, poor coaching and even poorer baseball contributed to the White Sox's downfall. It was a failed mission for the South Side, which had been building up for that competitive window since 2018.
And even though losing wasn't fun for anyone in the clubhouse, Cease claims the experience taught him.
"Last year wasn't enjoyable in any way," Cease said. "But now I can sit here now and say I got a lot out of it. I learned kinda what doesn't work and got back to what is now hopefully working."
Cease's final season with the White Sox wasn't ideal. In 33 starts and 177 innings pitched, Cease finished the season with a 4.58 ERA, 214 strikeouts and 79 walks. His 1.418 WHIP was his worst mark for a season since the shortened 2020 season.
That unfolded after a career-best season for Cease in 2022 that saw him finish runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award behind Justin Verlander. Cease then finished with a 2.20 ERA from 32 starts and 184 innings. He held a blistering 1.109 WHIP and struck out a whopping 227 batters.
But now, as Cease mentioned, his takeaways from an unenjoyable 2023 season on the South Side have propelled him through the start of his first season in San Diego. Now, Cease holds a 2.55 ERA through seven starts. He's struck out 48 batters and walked 14 of them, holding a tantalizing 0.083 WHIP, too.
Cease's lateral to San Diego is a total one-eighty. He went from a team slowly drifting away from their competitive window to one firmly in theirs. The Padres, while a .500 team now, hold the second-place spot in the usually ultra-competitive NL West.
It's not the same story for the White Sox, as they currently hold MLB's worst record (8-27) behind the Rockies. Is Cease surprised by the way they've played this season?
"Yeah, I mean, a little bit. I think they have more talent than that, for sure," Cease said.
The White Sox are rebuilding. Cease's trade to acquire prospects RHP Drew Thorpe (MLB Pipeline's No. 85 prospect; SD No. 5), OF Samuel Zavala (SD No. 7), RHP Jairo Iriarte (SD No. 8) and RHP Steven Wilson is a part of that rebuilding plan. And USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports more trades are likely on the way for the South Side at the trade deadline.
But as it stands now, they field one of the worst teams in the league. They've been shut out a historic nine times through 35 games. They own the worst offense by a 19-run margin and they hold the third-worst team ERA (5.00) in the league, too.
Still, Cease opts to give his former team the benefit of the doubt for the rest of their season.
"Baseball is one of those games where anything can happen and funky things can happen. For all we know, they'll go on a nice little win streak and kinda even that out. But yeah it's a little surprising."