The final thing the White Sox got right was they leveraged areas where the Sox brand still is strong.
The Sox added players from the Dominican Republic which has always produced good baseball players. That is a country you would like to see the Sox get more players out of. However, the White Sox did a good job getting players from where the Sox are not totally looked at as a joke.
The bulk of the class is made up of players from Venezuela.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) January 15, 2025
Why that matters is the White Sox still have some solid standing in that country given their ties to Ozzie Guillen, who is pretty much considered the Godfather of baseball in that country.
It makes sense to use his ties to get a look at some of these players. He manages a winter ball team there and has helped the Sox work out players they are scouting as I understand it.
It also helps the Sox were one of the first franchises to go to Venezuela to find star players such as Chico Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio back in the 1950s and 60s.
The Sox are also reportedly still a well-respected franchise in Cuba. That is due to Hall of Famer Minnie Minoso carving out his legendary career on the Southside last century. Also, Jose Abreu became a superstar on the Southside.
It makes sense for the Sox to continue to mine for talent out of those two countries given that the organization has developed some of those regions' greatest players.
Keep taking swings in those two countries and make more inroads in the Dominican as international free agency is a great way to find high-upside players without having the fear of wasting a draft pick.
Plus, this talent pipeline is a great way to cover for misses in the MLB Draft. The Sox have had a lot of misses in both of these talent acquisition areas, but hopefully, these front-office changes improve how the club does in getting players.