The Chicago White Sox are a really bad team. They are so bad that they are amongst the worst in Major League Baseball. It is hard to see things getting any better any time soon.
One thing that has been a bright spot on the team since things started to turn around has been their ace. Dylan Cease has pitched very well over the last two years as he is truly viewed as a top pitcher in baseball.
Well, the stink of the Chicago White Sox might be starting to hit him. On Thursday night, he matched the play of his teammates as he was terrible.
Against the Tampa Bay Rays, Cease allowed nine hits and two walks which resulted in seven runs against (six earned). He uncharacteristically had only three strikeouts and lasted only 4.0 innings.
The White Sox are hoping that Dylan Cease doesn't pitch bad now.
Of course, the bullpen made things even worse by allowing seven more runs but it doesn't matter because it isn't like the White Sox offense can support one bad Cease start.
It is unclear what the future of Dylan Cease is with the franchise. For his sake, you almost hope that he is sent out to play for another team that will put him in a good situation. There are plenty of conversations around that topic that are going to take place in the near future.
One of the bright spots of Rick Hahn's rebuild is Dylan Cease. He has developed very nicely but the team hasn't done much around him to take advantage of his rise to the top of the pitching ranks.
If he wants to ever win a Cy Young or World Series, getting out of Chicago might be the best play for him. He probably would say he doesn't want that but his agent Scott Boras will be honest with people as time moves along.
We know Cease isn't a bad player like most of his teammates so it will be interesting to see what his next start looks like. That should come next week against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field. Hopefully, for everyone's sake, he bounces back.