CHICAGO -- When the 2019 season came to a close, one where José Abreu topped the American League with 123 RBIs, the then 32-year-old White Sox first baseman made a pledge to himself.

He needed to stay within a targeted solid physical condition in order to extend his career as far as possible.

“I put a goal in my mind. I said I have to keep my weight at 240,” said Abreu through interpreter Billy Russo during a Saturday Zoom. “And I did all that I could to accomplish that, and I’m still doing that, because I feel good being at 240. That’s all that I’ve been doing right now.

“Just doing the work that I know that I need for my body to be in good shape. That’s all I can control, because I know if I’m in good shape, the results or what happens in the game is going to take care of itself.”

Abreu played at 268 pounds as his top weight. But the more streamlined Abreu is as productive as ever.

“You work hard every day to try to do good things, great things,” Abreu said. “If something like that happens, then it's worth all the work that you've put in day in and day out.

“If that happens, I don't know for how long that's going to last, because we have Eloy Jiménez and Yoán Moncada here. That probably won't last long. But it will definitely be something special."

Cease ready for Wrigley Field debut
Much like Jiménez, there was a time when Dylan Cease thought his Wrigley Field debut would come with the Cubs. But after the 2017 trade sending Jiménez and Cease to the White Sox for José Quintana, that mound trip will take place for the White Sox on Sunday afternoon.

Does the right-hander feel an extra push to beat the team that selected him in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB Draft?

“They have such a good team and such a good lineup that it's that much more important to do well against them,” said Cease on a Saturday Zoom. “And then if you do well against them, it's just that much more of, you know, basically saying, ‘Hey, you did your job well, you executed.’

“For me, it's amplified in that regard, not necessarily because it's my old team. At the end of the day, they did a lot for me. But I definitely respect them as a team, and it makes me want to pitch as well as I can against them.”

Cease is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA in four starts this month, and he's 8-8 with a 5.11 ERA over 19 career starts.

Cease still remembers getting the trade news on July 13, 2017, while he was with Class A South Bend.

“I think it was at like 10 in the morning. And I had been scratched a couple times leading up to that, so everyone was kind of just joking like, ‘Yeah, you're getting traded,’” Cease said. “I don't know if any of us were really taking it serious.

“Then I got the call, and it was like immediately, ‘Hey, someone from the White Sox is going to reach out to you.’ So I packed up my apartment and went to the field, packed up my stuff and then drove down to somewhere in South Carolina to meet my new team. The biggest thing was really just how quick it happened. In the blink of an eye, I was in a new organization, on a new team, I was surrounded by new people.”

Third to first
• Right-handed reliever Ian Hamilton was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to the team’s alternate training site in Schaumburg, Ill. Hamilton was out with right shoulder soreness.

• Second baseman Nick Madrigal, sidelined by a separated left shoulder, continues to work at Schaumburg. General manager Rick Hahn originally had targeted Madrigal’s return by the end of August.

“He's moving well, he's swinging the bat and still trying to get his timing, things of that nature,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of the White Sox No. 4 prospect. “He's moving in a positive direction."

• Entering Saturday, the White Sox had set club records for most homers over six (22) and seven-game spans (24). They tied the marks over eight (24), nine (26) and 10-game spans (28), all according to STATS.

He Said It
“We need these kind of games for the city, for the fans, for baseball. For us as players, it’s a pride moment. We take a lot of pride in these games because we know the importance of these games.” -- Abreu on the Cubs-White Sox rivalry