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  • Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff WriterMar 14, 2024, 01:22 PM ET

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      Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.

A good showing this spring by former Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease helped his value in advance of his trade to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, according to White Sox general manager Chris Getz.

“His last outing in Cincinnati was an impressive one,” Getz told reporters Thursday morning via Zoom. “There was a lot of buzz at that game. Unsurprisingly, teams really stepped up. … Up until yesterday, we didn’t feel like we had a deal on the table that we felt like met the mark, and it finally came together and we moved on it.”

Cease, 28, was traded for three prospects and reliever Steven Wilson. The deal was made after Cease appeared in three Cactus League games, giving up two runs on six hits in 8⅓ innings while striking out 14.

Those numbers are closer to his 2022 regular season, when he finished second in American League Cy Young voting. Last season, he compiled a 4.58 ERA as the White Sox lost 101 games.

“Last year wasn’t Dylan’s best year,” Getz said. “There was a level of concern that perhaps he wasn’t going to get back to who he’s been in the past. Other teams’ comfort levels were raised when they were able to see it in person.”

Cease was the subject of trade rumors all offseason as Chicago is in a mini-rebuild mode, especially on the mound. The five-year veteran has two years of team control left before entering free agency, and Getz wanted full value for him. That meant trading Cease before the season started, though Getz was asked whether he considered waiting until the July trade deadline.

“That’s a risk,” Getz said. “Were we willing to take that? Of course, we were willing to take that into the season. However, there is no denying a lot of things can happen on a baseball field throughout the season. You weigh that risk with the offer that was given to us by San Diego; we felt like that was something that was likely not to be met if we would have taken that into the season.

“We had a highly motivated team that wanted to start the year out with Dylan Cease.”

Getz indicated that two of the prospects the White Sox got in return — pitchers Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte — have a chance to be on the big league team this season, along with Wilson. Outfielder Sam Zavala will begin the season in the lower levels of the minor leagues after hitting 14 home runs and stealing 20 bases at Single-A for San Diego last year. Getz was not able to pry any of the Padres’ top prospects from them, including Jackson Merrill or Ethan Salas.

“There are different ways to go about it. More than anything, very excited about the return we got from the San Diego Padres,” Getz said.

Getz also announced Thursday that right-hander Michael Kopech would begin the season in the bullpen as they intend to transition him into a back-end reliever. Kopech, 27, has struggled with his command and efficiency as a starter over his career. He pitched in three games out of the bullpen last season.

“We were going to run the risk of overtaxing our bullpen and remainder of our pitching staff,” Getz said. “We were looking to find some starters who were looking to be more efficient on the front end to help navigate a season. We know that Michael has the capabilities to get anyone out based on his stuff. … However, the desire to go deeper into games and be more efficient is something we are aiming for.”

The trade of Cease and move of Kopech to the bullpen leaves the White Sox with a new starting staff compared to last season. Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito were traded last summer, while Mike Clevinger didn’t return.

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11-year-old rejects big haul for rare Skenes card

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January 24, 2025

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11-year-old rejects big haul for rare Skenes card

  • Associated Press

Jan 24, 2025, 06:28 PM ET

The young collector who scored a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes has turned down a trade offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Topps announced Friday that the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card — which features Skenes’ autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey — up for auction.

The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years’ worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.

Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also offered the card’s owner the opportunity to take in a game with her in a luxury suite at the ballpark during one of Skenes’ starts.

While the collector wrote in a journal entry shared by Topps that nabbing the card was a “dream come true,” that dream apparently did not include spending the next three decades attending games at PNC Park.

The team posted on X after the decision that it was “bummed” but offered to have the fan at a game sometime during the 2025 season.

Fanatics Collect, which will handle the auctioning of the card in March, said it would donate its proceeds from the sale to fire relief funds in the Los Angeles area.

The card could hold pretty high value considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting after an outstanding rookie season.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft made his major league debut in May and put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. Skenes was selected as the NL’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game after only 11 starts and finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 games.

Skenes said over the weekend he hasn’t thought about the potential of signing a long-term contract to remain in Pittsburgh, saying instead that his focus is on helping the Pirates take a step toward contending in 2025. He is eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.

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Notre Dame safety Watts to enter NFL draft

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4 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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Notre Dame safety Watts to enter NFL draft
Jan 24, 2025, 04:19 PM ET

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Two-time All-America safety Xavier Watts will enter the NFL draft rather than return to Notre Dame for a sixth season.

Watts made the announcement on social media Friday, four days after the Irish lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game in Atlanta.

Watts is the No. 4 draft-eligible safety in 2025, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

Watts began his college career as a receiver in 2020 and moved to defense his second season. He had 13 interceptions over the past two seasons, most by any player in the Football Bowl Subdivision. He picked off six passes this season, running one back 100 yards to help Notre Dame seal its win against Southern California. He was voted to the Associated Press All-America first team for two straight years.

Watts, whose hometown is Omaha, Nebraska, could have returned to Notre Dame to use the extra season granted by the NCAA to athletes who were active during the 2020 pandemic season. Most draft analysts project Watts to be selected late in the first round or in the second.

“As I embark on the next chapter of my football journey, I’m filled with pride as I look back on the many memories and people that I’ll forever cherish,” Watts wrote on X. “I hope that my time in the Irish uniform has helped continue the tradition of those that came before me.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

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5 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

  • Associated Press

Jan 24, 2025, 11:20 AM ET

OMAHA, Neb. — Calvin Jones, who rushed for more than 3,000 yards in three seasons at Nebraska and was with the Green Bay Packers when they won the Super Bowl after the 1996 season, has died. He was 54.

Police said Jones’ body was found in the basement of a house in north Omaha on Wednesday night. Police have not confirmed a cause of death pending an autopsy.

A friend of Jones, Jo Dusatko, told the Omaha World-Herald that carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected. She said the furnace in the home was not working and that Jones was using a generator in the basement.

Jones was a high school All-American at Central High School before he went to Nebraska, where he rushed for 3,166 yards and 40 touchdowns and was an All-Big Eight pick in 1992-93.

Jones and Derek Brown formed the tandem called the “We-Backs,” a nod to the Cornhuskers’ I-back position, with Jones the backup to Brown in 1991. Jones’ breakout that season came when he ran 27 times for a Big Eight freshman-record 294 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a 59-23 victory over Kansas. His rushing total against the Jayhawks ranks No. 2 on the Nebraska single-game rushing chart.

Jones declared for the NFL draft in 1994 and was a third-round selection of the Raiders. He appeared in 15 games over two seasons with the Raiders and had a total of 27 carries for 112 yards and two catches for 6 yards. He appeared in one game for the Packers in 1996 but had no carries.

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