Hahn: Cease 'awful close' to White Sox debut

CHICAGO -- When asked how far away Dylan Cease is from Chicago, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn came up with the easy pregame answer during his Friday media session.

“He's still in Charlotte,” said Hahn with a smile.

But how much longer will the No. 18 prospect overall, per MLB Pipeline, remain a part of the Triple-A Knights’ rotation? The White Sox have a split doubleheader Wednesday at home against the Tigers, which could be a logical jump for the right-hander, but Hahn didn’t address any possible callup dates.

“We've always said that at some point over the course of the 2019 season we envisioned him joining us as a natural progression,” Hahn said. “Obviously, I suppose people will ask, ‘You had an opening tonight, why didn't you go with Dylan Cease?’ We've said all along Dylan Cease was going to get to Chicago based on what Dylan Cease is doing, not based upon what other players are doing.

“Based upon what Dylan Cease has been doing, we're getting awful close to that time. He's in a good spot right now. He's in a good spot mentally, he's in a good spot physically right now. He's getting closer to helping us.”

Cease started Thursday but was limited by inclement weather to one strikeout over one inning. He has a 4.62 ERA to go with 68 strikeouts over 64 1/3 innings for the Knights.

Palka returns
The 2018 breakout season for Daniel Palka, who hit 27 home runs, drove in 67 runs and showed an ability to deliver the big hit, was followed by a miserable 1-for-35 start to the 2019 season with 15 strikeouts. But those struggles did not permanently define Palka, who hit .271 with 16 homers over 59 games upon his demotion to Charlotte, before his return to the White Sox starting lineup Friday.

“It is what it is,” Palka said. “You can't sit there and dwell on something that's not working out. This is my livelihood. I want to help the team win. Being kind of dead weight during that span was frustrating for me. Ultimately, all I wanted to do was to contribute to wins.”

Palka felt everything come together at Charlotte, from pitch recognition to cleaning up some mechanics’ issues. He’s also ready to play some first base along with outfield and designated hitter responsibilities.

“Me and [Charlotte manager Mark Grudzielanek] work on it a lot. Like, a lot a lot. I'm really comfortable there,” said Palka of playing first. “I played there a lot in the past and when I got traded to the Twins, we had like, 20 first basemen, so there wasn't really a need for me there.

“I've been kind of waiting to work myself back there, because it is a position I like. From what I know, I'll be doing a little bit of everything.”

Alonso leaves with praise
A .178 average and .576 OPS, coupled with the White Sox desire to give more at-bats to Palka and Zack Collins, ultimately led to veteran first baseman/designated hitter Yonder Alonso being designated for assignment. But Hahn had praise for the work done by Alonso, especially within the clubhouse.

? White Sox designate Alonso; Anderson to IL

“His conversations with young players in terms of focus, in terms of work ethic, in terms of fighting through at-bats, in terms of being ready each and every day has been great,” Hahn said. “I'm sure if you ask around to some of the younger guys if Yonder had an impact on them, they'd be giving you firsthand views on that. I've got zero complaints in terms of the character and the class with which he carried himself and his work ethic.”

He said it
“Even if you're talking about jumping up and grabbing the second Wild Card [in ’19], that's not what this rebuild was all about. It was about the long term, and we're not going to compromise off that.” -- Hahn