Nearly two years after trading Dylan Cease, the White Sox quietly designated one of the deal’s key return pieces, reopening questions many assumed were already settled.
Sep 9, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Jairo Iriarte (52) delivers against the Cleveland Guardians during the fourth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images
Right-hander Jairo Iriarte was designated for assignment to clear roster space, a procedural move that carried far heavier symbolic weight.
The decision arrived alongside the additions of Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin, forcing Chicago to make choices about who still fit the future.
Iriarte’s inclusion stung because he was once viewed as a potential rotation piece, not a temporary name waiting for roster math to change.
Acquired from San Diego, Iriarte joined Drew Thorpe, Samuel Zavala, and Steven Wilson as the perceived backbone of the Cease return.
Early signs suggested promise, particularly a solid Double-A season and a brief major league debut that showed flashes of composure.
But beneath those surface numbers lived a persistent issue the White Sox could never fully resolve, his inability to consistently command the strike zone.
Walk totals ballooned in 2024 and spiraled further in 2025, erasing confidence faster than raw stuff could rebuild it.
In Triple-A last season, hitters teed off, control vanished, and development stalled badly enough to send him to Arizona midyear.
At just twenty-four, Iriarte still owns upside, but upside without progress becomes difficult to justify on a tightening roster.
Now he heads to waivers, where another organization may attempt the fix Chicago never quite found.
If he clears, the White Sox can stash him in the minors, quietly preserving a fading asset rather than losing it outright.
Regardless, the Dylan Cease return now feels thinner, with one less pillar holding up the trade’s long-term justification.
Drew Thorpe remains the centerpiece, but his development was interrupted by elbow surgery that erased his entire 2025 season.
Samuel Zavala offers patience and youth, though he remains unproven and far from guaranteeing impact at the major league level.
With each subtraction, the margin for error narrows, placing increasing pressure on the remaining pieces to deliver.
The final verdict on the Cease trade remains distant, but moments like this shape perception long before outcomes are finalized.
A quiet DFA rarely commands attention, yet it can echo loudly when tied to a franchise-altering decision.
For now, the White Sox wait, hoping time will soften what already feels like an uncomfortable recalculation.
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