A weird feeling came over me when I was listening to Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz's recent interview on the White Sox ReKap podcast.
That feeling was hope.
I know it can be hard to be hopeful these days regarding the Chicago White Sox. The previous leadership group was good at selling the promise of winning multiple championships during the last decade's rebuild. All that rebuild yielded was just two playoff wins.
At least Getz understands just how far behind the times the organization was and is trying to implement reasonable solutions.
That is the main takeaway from his more than an hour-long sit-down.
Getz went over how he had to revamp the international scouting department, bring in Ryan Fuller to implement a standard of developing hitting much like the Baltimore Orioles have done, and in general, upgrade the team's research and development.
He even acknowledged the joke everyone has about the White Sox analytics department--did the team even own a computer and if so, were they still using dial-up?
It sounds like Getz has brought in computers and gotten the team an ethernet connection with wireless capabilities.
That still does not mean you should not be guarded.
This fan base has been peddled hope and promise of parades before. Then we all had to watch the team crater and rot into the worst franchise baseball has ever seen.
Plus, identifying the franchise's problems is the easy part. Coming through with results to solve them is the tricky part, especially with the owner and his buddy Tony La Russa hanging over like dark cloud.
Speaking of Jerry Reinsdorf, as I was listening to the interview, frustration started to creep in after the feeling of hope disappeared. Reinsdorf promoted Getz because he believed Chris could turn things around quickly.
He should have said Chris was getting the job without interviewing anyone else because Getz knew what was wrong, could sell it to Jerry in a way to buy in, and hopefully could get the infrastructure in place within a year rather than the 18-24 months a new person would have needed.
That is about the only benefit of Getz getting the job in the worst GM search ever conducted. He did not need an extra six months to do an autopsy since he was part of the previous leadership group that helped kill the franchise's competitive window in the first place.
Instead, Getz had to waste time trying to appease the owner wanting things to be fixed quickly without giving him a blank check to do it.
At least, Getz understood, as he acknowledged in the interview, that it was probably not a good idea to rely on a core of players who are always hurt and have nothing in the farm system to fill the void left when those players go on IL. Top-heavy is how he described it.
Like it or not, we are stuck with Getz. At least it sounds like he is doing the easy part, and that is ripping the roster down to the studs--again--and trying to modernize how this team operates.
That is the easy part.
Let's see if he can do the hard part, delivering results to get this franchise back to being competitive.
I would suggest he be held to these three standards as he takes the club through another rebuild...
1) The next three draft classes and international free-agent signings infuse talent into the farm system to keep it highly regarded.
The White Sox have shot up the farm system rankings. They have six prospects in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 rankings. They also have the best left-handed pitching prospect in Noah Schultz.
However, three of those top 100 prospects came via trades with two of them recently coming over in the Garrett Crochet trade.
You want to see the Sox sustain this prospect momentum with a couple more strong drafts. Remember, at some point, those six will graduate from prospect status and if there is another strong group behind them, the Sox farm system rankings will plummet much as they did in 2021.
The lottery rules have prevented the White Sox from getting the No. 1 overall pick despite finishing with a record-setting 121 losses.
That still does not mean the team can get a franchise player with the No. 10 pick. The franchise must continue to string together three more strong draft classes after putting together a solid one in 2024.
First-round pick Hagen Smith projects to be a potential ace with his floor being a dominant closer. High school prospect Caleb Bonemer has a ton of upside. The Sox also found some solid college bats who can provide supporting roles in the big leagues.
However, more has to be done because one reason last decade's rebuild failed was the team never drafted enough prospects to backup the core of players acquired in the Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and Adam Eaton trades.
Let's face it, the team's prospect pool was built up by getting Yoan Moncada, Dylan Cease, Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, and Lucas Giolito. A slam-dunk international free-agent signing in Luis Robert Jr. rounded out the core.
There was nothing from the drafts that followed. When those guys either got hurt or underperformed, there was nothing to fill the void.
That is why these next three drafts must not only produce core pieces, but also depth in the farm system to use to make trades to put the team over the top.
Also, international free agency is a great way to find core players too. Getz spoke about overhauling that department. Now, the hope is that talent acquisition area can find better players than Lenyn Sosa.
Sosa is the last real hit the prior group had and that is not saying much.
2) The core of teams from 2027-2033 comes from players the club drafted or signed in international free agency.
That means this franchise is developing players. Getz specifically mentioned in his interview how adding Brian Bannister to run the team's pitching and Ryan Fuller to run the hitting is part of his plan to turn things around.
He liked how Bannister developed pitchers in Boston and San Francisco. He is hoping Fuller can develop hitting like how his previous organization, the Baltimore Orioles, did.
It makes sense to invest in player development since the owner will not cut checks to cover for misses in the draft. Heck, the owner still will not pay the going rate for premium talent which is over $100 million.
You want to see if the Sox can be competitive by the end of the decade, it is because of players the team drafted or signed internationally.
There is some promise that it could happen. The rotation could be set up for the rest of the decade and be headlined by Schultz and Smith. Jonathan Cannon should be a reliable rotation arm for years to come and he was also a draft pick. Drew Thorpe has shown promise although he was developed by the Yankees before coming over in the Dylan Cease trade (he briefly was in the Padres system).
Developing pitching has not been the problem. It is the hitting that has proven quite difficult to develop, so you want to see if Colson Montgomery can flourish.
Braden Montgomery was not technically drafted by the White Sox. Since he was just selected by the Red Sox in the first round and then sent over to the Southside in the Garrett Crochet trade, his becoming a superstar would be a major feather in the team's development cap since they will be the ones to develop Braden.
Edgar Quero becoming great would also be a sign this team can develop players. Even though he started in the Los Angeles Angels' system, the main portion of his development time was spent with the White Sox.
You want to see this team being built through the draft and international signings because it is also cheaper that way and we have to accept that is the way ownership likes it. You just want to see the team keep these players around after the club control clock has run out.
3) Getz spends the limited money he will be authorized to use better than his predecessors.
Say what you want about Jerry Reinsdorf's frugalness, but the owner has authorized payrolls that have reached $200 million.
The problem is that has never been enough. His self-imposed salary caps is another reason the team decayed into its current state.
The other reason was the limited financial resources were poorly spent by previous leadership.
Former team executive VP Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn allocated too many financial resources into the bullpen. Spending on a closer is fine, but they spent way too much on setup man. He also gave way too much money to a catcher who could not catch in Yasmani Grandal. He was also terrible in the clubhouse and reportedly ruined team chemistry in 2022 and 2023.
Kenny and Rick also gave way too much money to Dallas Keuchel--an aging ace. Well, it was too many years. Keuchel should have been signed to a one-year deal with an option.
Finally, instead of spending money to solve the team's eternal problem at second base or right field, Hahn gave the richest free-agent contract to Andrew Benintendi--a left fielder who does not hit for power.
You can see how the money was poorly spent.
Getz can stand out from his predecessors if proves he can spend the limited money better and more effectively.
He has shown potential with how he signed Erick Fedde last offseason. While he is not spending big bucks this offseason, all of his free-agent signings have made sense.
If his big-spending swings work out--whenever they are allowed--then we know he might be cut for this job.