Dylan Cease returned to Rate Field this week and pitched against the Chicago White Sox for the first time since the team traded him to San Diego in 2024.
The blockbuster deal has favored the Padres so far.
Cease threw a no-hitter last season and helped San Diego reach the playoffs with a 3.47 ERA in 33 starts. He also posted a career-high 4.7 fWAR in 2024. The White Sox got a 5.71 ERA from reliever Steven Wilson in 40 relief appearances. Wilson was designated for assignment over the offseason, but he has since returned to the roster and had a great year.
Rookie pitcher Drew Thorpe was the centerpiece of the trade return. He showed some promise in his first taste of Major League Baseball. However, his season was cut short after needing surgery to shave down a bone spur in his elbow.
Thorpe suffered a setback during his rehab over the winter and things got even worse when he was lost for the 2025 season to Tommy John surgery.
Another pitcher that came back to the White Sox in the trade was Jairo Iriarte, who is now looking like a bust.
Pitching prospect Jairo Iriarte is on the path to being a bust
Jairo Iriarte showed a ton of promise as a starter last season with a 3.71 ERA in 126 innings at Double-A Birmingham. Iriarte even earned himself a late-season call-up, where he had a 1.50 ERA in six innings out of the bullpen. However, his 1.83 WHIP was a preview of the command issues that have plagued him this season at Triple-A Charlotte.
Iriarte got off to a terrible start, posting a 9.00 ERA in April. He pitched so poorly in Charlotte that he was removed from game action and sent to the team's Spring Training facility in Glendale to work on his mechanics.
When he returned to Charlotte, he was moved to the bullpen. It was a sound idea from the White Sox, as some scouts believed Iriarte was always destined to be a good high-leverage reliever instead of a quality starter.
Sadly, Iriarte has been just as bad in the bullpen as he was a starter this season. Look no further than his 13.50 ERA with 10 walks and six strikeouts during eight outings in August as proof.
The clear command issues have sent Iriarte tumbling down White Sox prospect rankings. MLB Pipeline still considers him one of the White Sox's top 30 prospects, but he has dropped to 17th on the most updated list.
If he cannot solve his command problems soon, Iriarte is likely to fall out of MLB Pipeline's top 30 at some point. A 17.1% walk rate ballooned from 10.7% in 2024, and it's simply not going to cut it.
Iriarte's velocity is also down a bit. That has me starting to worry if he will ever recover from this wretched season.
Iriarte is already 23 year old, and the White Sox have a bit of a track record for being willing to move on quickly from struggling hurlers they did not draft. Nick Nastrini was a formerly highly-regarded pitching prospect acquired in a deal with the Dodgers. He was let go midway through the 2025 season after having similar command issues.
Iriarte had better spend the offseason figuring out his command if he does not want to suffer the same fate. I'm not sure the White Sox will be as patient with him next year.