The 2025 MLB trade deadline has passed and the Chicago White Sox were less active than most expected.
Despite currently sitting in last place in the American League central, the White Sox only made a couple trades, sending OF Austin Slater to the New York Yankees, and RHP Adrian Houser to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Some of the lack of activity may be due to not having as many desirable trade chips as some other sellers, but USA Today’s Bob Nightengale provided another possible explanation during an interview on Friday.
Chris Getz frustrates other GMs
On the Foul Territory podcast co-hosted by former White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski, Nightengale described not trading Luis Robert as a “disaster”
“You talk to GMs and they get frustrated dealing with Chris Getz. So, they kinda stood pat. But I think the Robert thing, they should’ve traded him over the winter for one, but they had to trade him now," said Nightengale. "I don’t think they can pick up that option. I think it’s stupid to throw another $20 million down the drain."
Nightengale went on to imply that no other teams were really interested in Robert, which would seem to contradict his previous claim that the White Sox made a poor decision by not trading him.
If no other teams were interested, how is there an expectation for Chris Getz to make a deal happen? It takes two to make a trade. especially a fair one.
General managers get frustrated dealing with Chris Getz, says @BNightengale. pic.twitter.com/12kvo4rxEF
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 1, 2025
Reading between the lines, it sounds like other GMs across Major League Baseball were frustrated at Chris Getz’s high asking price for Robert, and possibly for other players as well.
A high asking price for Robert is understandable, however, if the White Sox are genuinely okay with picking up Robert’s option and keeping him for 2026.
White Sox can benefit from Getz's negotiation style
In my opinion, Chris Getz being a hard negotiator is not necessarily a bad thing. I’d much rather have a General Manager who knows the value of his players and makes sure he’s getting a fair price than someone who will allow himself to be taken advantage of.
If the offers for Robert were truly not significant as Nightengale claims, there’s no harm in bringing him back for next season and seeing if he carries over his recent hot streak.
The White Sox will have less than $40 million on their 2026 payroll including Robert’s option, so it should not prohibit them from adding players outside of Robert to further improve the ball club.
It’s fair to question the reasoning behind not making a few more moves, but trading players with some value just to get them off the team isn’t a very good strategy in my book. I think Chris Getz did well in the trades he made at the deadline and I understand the reasoning behind holding some of the others veteran on the 26-man roster.
As the White Sox start to play better and Chris Getz looks to turn this team from a bottom-feeder to a contender, I hope he continues to fight for fair value and doesn’t settle, no matter what Bob Nightengale thinks.