As his first full season in the GM seat has worn on, Chris Getz has increasingly emphasized that his focus has been upgrading the foundations of the White Sox organization.
That scans, because a house undergoing a full-gut rehab usually looks unlivable to passerby the sidewalk, and "three of our walls are actually just sheets of Tyvek" is about the feel the roster has had while going 6-40 since the trade deadline.
“I think if you would have told me we were going to end up flirting with the record I would have been a little surprised,” Getz said. “Now if you would have told me prior to the year that we would have ended up with over 100 losses, 105, 110, I wouldn't have been as surprised. But these are the cards that we've been dealt at this point."
Even the action of the past week as the team parted ways with special assistants Marco Paddy and Bill Scherrer, along with a trio of longtime professional scouts, underscores how the gradual nature of this sort of overhaul is harder to assess than say, whether re-signing Mike Clevinger was worth doing. Getz was hinting at an overhaul to international operations in spring training -- maybe earlier, since that's just when I started working again -- and now it's September and we're just getting started.
"We’re in the works of building a new academy; more so focused on the scouting process, it’s different from what you’ll see on the amateur side, we need to make a little bit more of a comprehensive approach," Getz said when asked how soon a new international scouting director could be in place. "Our focus is on building out that process, and the leadership will come once that process is built. We’re going to do that from our front office, and we’ll make a decision from there.”
Getz's comment echoes industry criticism that the White Sox international operation's past practice of focusing on high-profile older Cuban players covered for a lack of robust coverage elsewhere. And when it comes to evaluating and deciding to remove Paddy after over a decade in the organization, or literally building a new Dominican academy, it's not that the new Sox regime is moving slowly on these pieces. It's just the type of organizational work that famously takes eons to bear fruit on the major league level, though Getz said he expects to keep adding more staff to baseball operations this winter.
In the meantime, the worst team ever is expected to have an even smaller payroll in 2025. Or to extend the metaphor, the budget doesn't allow for much more beyond fresh sheets of Tyvek, but it's a secondary concern when there's still all this piping to replace.
“Every club has their financial restraints, and I think that’s the beauty of our game in a way, too," Getz said, after being asked about budget restrictions impacting personnel decisions. "We’re looking for individuals that can do many things, that are very talented, so we can scale the talent that they have and have a far reach, whether it be down at your academy, apply it to every acquisition and the development of our players. So that’s what we’re focused on, that’s what we’ve been focused on."
A Detroit-area native, Getz has made more than a few references to Dave Dombrowski shepherding the Tigers from 119 losses in 2003 to a long window of regular contention. It's clear he'd like to mimic the latter portions of that path, since he's already one-upping the first part.
"It's going to make it just that much sweeter once we get there," Getz said
Sure, but some of the budgets Dombrowski got to work with would probably speed it along.
With Getz insisting the White Sox still intend to hire their next manager away from a present uniform role in another organization, there's nothing new he can add on the interview front, which won't begin until the season ends.
"What we’ve done is we’ve built out a process that we feel very good about," Getz said. "Simultaneously, we’ve been able to collect names through referrals or our own research, and we feel pretty good about the amount of candidates that we have."
While saying there will be "fairly broad" involvement across the organization in the manager hiring process, Getz concluded with, "It’s going to be my decision, the baseball ops decision, and we’re excited about the next Chicago White Sox manager."
The White Sox are interested in trading Garrett Crochet this offseason, since their crop of positional talent in the farm system still needs a boost, and fitting him into their competitive window involves a long-term extension for a pitcher with a lengthy injury history and little motivation to take a hometown discount.
"It’s wise to see what the market holds for a Garrett Crochet to see if we can improve the White Sox for the future," Getz said.
However Getz did allow that they will be in contact with Crochet's camp this offseason when asked if there's any chance of signing him long-term. It's a move that's hard to visualize given the revenue the team has and will be pulling in, their previous spending history and being at literally the lowest point of a win cycle that anyone has ever been. But they won't know the price until they ask.
Getz and numerous White Sox officials have repeatedly said how they'd love to see Colson Montgomery just find his way into a hot stretch at some point, even while understanding that he's just a 22-year-old at Triple-A. A seven-game hitting streak that's seen him hit .379/.406/.724 looks like it could be it.
"We’re excited about the adjustments and freedom in his swing right now," Getz said. "He’s driving the ball, he’s having good at-bats, there seems to be a lot more looseness in his game overall, we’re going to continue to nurture that and go from there."
While adjusting lower half mechanics are a focus for Montgomery, Sox officials are especially glad to see his approach allowing for the return of some hits to left-center to his game. But they're far more inclined to let him finish out the Triple-A season on a high note than entertain any notions of a last minute call-up this season.
Not an official list, but the White Sox are planning on sending the following prospects to the Arizona Fall League:
- Grant Taylor (25 strikeouts to one walk in 16 innings in Low-A prior to lat injury)
- Sean Burke (31 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A, season delayed by shoulder inflammation)
- Peyton Pallette (0.50 ERA in 35.2 innings since converting to relief)
- Tim Elko (.280/.334/.423 across Double and Triple-A, will hit moonshots in front of scouts in Arizona)
- DJ Gladney (Still just 23, hitting .275/.310/.475 with four homers in 18 games since promotion to Double-A. Raw power is still beloved by the organization)
- Michael Turner (Buzzing after his Huskies knocked off Notr--correction: trusted organizational catcher who makes contact)
- Andrew Dalquist (Reliever-only now, but striking out 26.6 percent of hitters as a 23-year-old in Double-A)
- Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa (33 hits allowed in 42 1/3 innings across Double and Triple-A)
Top catching prospect Edgar Quero is set to take batting practice on the field Tuesday afternoon with the Charlotte Knights. His actual return to game action from missing almost a month with back tightness might not come until next week, but the White Sox still believe he will play again this season.
