ORLANDO, Fla. -- As White Sox general manager Chris Getz addressed reporters on a veranda of the Signia hotel, overlooking a swimming pool deep in the heart of the larger Disney World complex, dark storm clouds emerged on the horizon behind him.
A visual metaphor this juicy is the sort of thing sportswriters live for, but hell if I can pin down exactly how it applies to the current state of the White Sox.
It would've been perfect for the 2021 Winter Meetings, but Rick Hahn looks happy and content working for MLB Network these days, smiling easier than he did while defending the decision to not extend a qualifying offer to Carlos Rodón. And after three consecutive 100-loss seasons, the White Sox are still under the storm clouds. Rather than dreading their arrival, Getz spends a lot of his time in media briefings explaining how many different factors, work, and "infrastructure" goes into building even the potential of sunnier skies at 35th & Shields.
"Very much focus on the process more so than the result," Getz said. "If you become to result-oriented, it can take away the pathway to get there. At the end of the day, of course, it’s a results-based business. We know that to go out there and feel really good about our results, we have to have a really strong foundation and regularly execute with the group that we have here."
At enough intervals that reporters have stopped trying, Getz has swatted away efforts to pry an ETA out of him for his team's return to contention. Whereas his predecessor set the bar for success at "multiple parades," Getz has simply pledged to make the Sox better little by little, and will tell you that the 2026 White Sox team should be a marked improvement over the '25 version, even if both public and private comments from team officials -- with apologies to Anthony Kay -- show that this winter won't be the year this club spends with an intention to build a divisional favorite.
On the other end of the spectrum from overpromising is the risk of not providing a vision for the future. Even for a franchise that hasn't trained its fans to hold high standards, the last three years has surely driven many into hibernation, and the current Sox messaging doesn't always provide the clearest answer of when they should consider a return to the surface.
With apologies to Braston Basker, most GMs don't have the luxury of worrying about nor celebrating things that are more than three full seasons away. But you could try to make a tortured argument that the storm clouds represent Justin Ishbia taking control of the franchise no sooner than 2029, where the clouds hold the promise of a badly needed supply of nourishing rain, yet with no telling what will be washed away upon its arrival. Instead, it seems only fair to ask Getz for what hope of clear skies he thinks fans should cling to, and he suggested the current group of young players emerging are it, provided you include a couple of big names that haven't arrived yet.
"There’s a lot of players on this team and close to the big leagues that’s going to be part of the team that is going to contend for the division," Getz said. "To take the large step forward, a lot of it is going to be the continued development of these young players. And then you’ve got a Braden Montgomery, Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith and Sam Antonacci, guys that are getting closer to the big leagues and I anticipate going to be productive on the major-league club with the current players that we have, and I think that’s going to show up in the win total."
Astute readers will note that Getz merely alluded to contending for the AL Central, rather than specified if Brandon Eisert or Tyler Gilbert is their preferred option for late-inning matchups against Shohei Ohtani in the '26 World Series. But again, the emphasis remains on baby steps around these parts.
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The White Sox will likely make their coaching staff official during this week in Orlando, amateur scouting director Mike Shirley is on hand, potentially to celebrate the MLB Draft Lottery result on Tuesday night, and Getz described the opening 24 hours at Signia as "pretty busy."
"We have a big group here and getting together and having some discussions and talking to other clubs and agents," he said.
Without specifying the tier of investment, Getz indicated the White Sox are still looking to add starting pitching beyond the yet-to-be-official Kay, even while Will Venable said that the club views Jonathan Cannon as a starting pitcher, albeit one that has to win a job in spring. Last week's indications that a poor market for center fielders will direct more teams to check in on Luis Robert Jr. are holding true, even if Getz is trying to maintain a less-than-eager stance on moving him.
"I still envision him being our center fielder next year," Getz said. "Last year when some of these younger players stepped up and we were able to surround him a little bit more in our lineup, we got greater production out of Luis Robert, and in the second half is where I think that really started to show."
Filling out the White Sox outfield might be a tough enough task even with Robert in tow. Andrew Benintendi will play a good amount of left field, but even a version of him that plays better defense than the last two years probably gets frequent breaks from the field to enable it. Brooks Baldwin hit .253/.310/.459 in the second half last year, but Venable came closer to suggesting a reunion with their primary right fielder from last season than elevating Baldwin to a starting role.
"We lost [Mike] Tauchman for the time being," Venable said. "But just we have some moves still to be made and look forward to seeing how it all rounds out."
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Despite the state of the outfield prompting plenty of mention of Braden Montgomery waiting in the wings, Getz said the switch-hitting prospect is quite unlikely to break camp with the major league team next spring, which also implies additions between then and now to make that look less like the most compelling option.
Despite Tanner McDougal volunteering for it several times, Getz is not inclined to have him, nor Hagen Smith nor Noah Schultz (who is having a normal offseason throwing progression) crack into the majors through the bullpen. McDougal covered 113 ⅓ innings last year -- 120⅓ when including the postseason -- so the focus on stretching him out further in 2026 is fairly straightforward, but injuries kept Schultz from cracking 90, and even the Southern League playoffs and the Arizona Fall League couldn't get Smith to 100, so Getz at least allowed that their situations could evolve over the course of the year.
"As the season evolves you become a little bit more openminded in how you're going to utilize these arms," Getz said. "There's an opportunity at some point, maybe to have those conversations with some of those guys. But most importantly I want those guys going into spring training fighting for a starting position."
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McDougal and Duncan Davitt were the only prospects the Sox protected from the Rule 5 Draft, and since the 40-man roster will only go up to 35 members when Kay becomes official, you can't exactly tell Peyton Pallette, Shane Murphy and Ben Peoples that they were left off due to lack of space. Except in the case where the Sox valued having space more than those specific players at this time.
"When you're going into making a decision whether to protect someone, obviously the player evaluation comes first, but also the probability in which a player is going to be able to stick on a major league club," Getz said. "When it goes into the equation to make a decision on whether to protect guys or not, more times than not, you're trying to maintain flexibility on the roster."
The White Sox are still pretty far from being good, but they are undeniably flexible.
