CHICAGO -- I want to thank manager Pedro Grifol for putting a late January end to a time-honored but often annoying Spring Training tradition by announcing Dylan Cease as the 2024 White Sox Opening Day starter Thursday. 

Here’s how this scenario usually unfolds.

Approximately three or four weeks into Cactus League action, reporters start asking the manager about his thoughts on the Opening Day mound selection. There’s some misdirection from the manager, before falling upon, “We haven’t quite decided.”

These decisions are primarily made before Spring Training begins, so pitching coaches can line up their rotations and workload in Arizona or Florida. The Opening Day choice is usually fairly obvious, as is this case for Cease.

Cease struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings during a 3-2 victory at Houston, as the 2022 American League Cy Young runner-up topped the World Series champs on Opening Day ‘23. I kid you not when saying this victory was one of the highlights of a 61-win White Sox season.

So, the honor belongs to Cease for the second straight time … unless the White Sox move him. Chicago has two years of control remaining with the 28-year-old right-hander, who has been one of the top starters in the game and one of the most durable over the last three seasons.

His sort of talent helps any team, including the White Sox, as I’ve written many times before. Cease also figures to be the top trade return for a team going through a retooling process, meaning trade rumors featuring his name might continue up until he throws that first pitch of 2024 against the Tigers at home on March 28.

Hearing your name constantly connected with the Orioles, the Dodgers, the Yankees, etc. in trade rumors could be tough for some players. Grifol doesn’t think it has affected Cease.

“His personality, he’s unfazed by this,” said Grifol during a White Sox community outreach event with the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago at a location near Guaranteed Rate Field. “I talked to him yesterday, and we talked about him Opening Day. He’s preparing himself for that, and he feels great.

“He’s throwing ‘pens, he doesn’t have any soreness, he’s excited about this club. He’s excited about the guys we’ve acquired, excited about our catching. … If [a trade] happens, he understands the business, but like I told him and he told me, right now he’s our Opening Day starter and [he’s getting] ready.”

Even if trade talks are dormant on Friday, by the following Monday, a player could be making travel plans. So, Cease still might wind up somewhere else if Chicago’s high ask is met and it helps the team overall.

“We have to do what’s best for the organization, not just [in] ‘24 but ‘25 and beyond,” Grifol said. “He has the right mentality for it.

“Trades are hard to pull off. Everybody has to be comfortable with those. We’ll see what happens, but right now he’s our Opening Day starter, and I’m happy about that.”

What happens on Opening Day if Cease actually gets traded? Candidates such as Michael Kopech, Michael Soroka and Erick Fedde could step up, depending on the trade return for Cease. For the fourth or fifth time in my 22 seasons on the beat, there would be some real doubt behind that Opening Day question.

How many career hits did new Hall of Famer Todd Helton have at Guaranteed Rate Field?

A) 0 
B) 5
C) 10
D) 15

If Luis Robert Jr. played for a competitive team in 2023, the All-Star White Sox center fielder would have received AL Most Valuable Player consideration after his 38 home runs, 36 doubles and Gold Glove-caliber defense. Can Robert Jr. jump another level into the “best player in baseball” talk? Grifol believes it’s possible.

“With good support and continued improvement, he can be the best player in the game,” Grifol said. “There are some things he has to continue to improve as well. He did a really good job of that last year.

“From Day 1 all the way to the very end, he was a different player when it came to understanding the strike zone and his routine prior to a game. He knows himself better right now than he did last year at the beginning of the season.”

Grifol wants more runners on base when Robert Jr. connects.

“We need to step on home plate a hell of a lot more times when he puts the ball in the seats,” Grifol said. “Putting guys around him that understand the game, understand what we’re trying to do and get on base for Luis and Eloy [Jiménez] and [Andrew] Vaughn, that’s going to be our key, throughout the lineup, not just at the top of the order.”

• Make sure to tune into MLB Network Friday night at 6 p.m. CT for the release of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list. It will be interesting to see how many White Sox players are in the Top 100 from a Minor League system once again making a move upward.

• Anyone who watched the University of Michigan football championship celebration in Ann Arbor five days after they won the title in Houston knew coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t coming back. But 15-0 records and titles last forever, so best of luck to Harbaugh with the Chargers and let the Sherrone Moore head coaching era begin for the Wolverines.

“That’s what excited me about the job. The White Sox broadcast TV booth always has been known as one of the best teams in baseball. The commitment to excellence, the commitment to resources, the commitment to bringing the fans the best product possible on TV. So, when I got the opportunity to be a part of it, I’m like, ‘Yes!’ I jumped at it.” -- John Schriffen, the new White Sox television play-by-play voice 

“I rely on my dad, my mother. My wife. My friends of course. But especially my kids. They are the ones who give me that happiness when things are tough. They keep me moving.” -- Yoán Moncada, through interpreter Billy Russo

A) 0

Helton’s Rockies only played three games on the South Side of Chicago during his tenure, but he finished 0-for-11 with one walk and five strikeouts. Helton went 5-for-29 in eight total games vs. the White Sox without an extra-base hit, and with one RBI and three runs scored. 

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