Chicago White Sox GM Chris Getz confirms club will not be big spenders this offseason

Despite being on the cusp of breaking the 1962 New York Mets record for single-season futility, the Chicago White Sox will not be major players in free agency this offseason.

General manager Chris Getz confirmed that the club will be passing on a spending spree despite having the potential to have just two guaranteed deals on the books.

Sp keep the fantasy of the team pursuing Juan Soto this offseason right where it should be--a fantasy. Instead, say hello to more minor free-agent moves such as what the club did last offseason.

Now, there is nothing wrong with serving up youth next season. Edgar Quero, Bryan Ramos, Brooks Baldwin, Colson Montgomery, and Dominic Fletcher project to be between solid to superstar players. The club has already gotten a lot of indications that their young pitching can produce hurlers that can range from aces to solid starters to effective relievers.

It makes sense to go with younger players after hitting rock bottom but there is one flaw in Getz's logic.

It sounds like he is banking on players such as Andrew Benintendi, Andrew Vaughn, and Luis Robert Jr. putting together a full season of being star players to get this team back to winning 60 games.

First, it is sad that the hope for next season is to double the win total and it still being enough to finish dead last. Second, the club tried that logic in the offseason after that disappointing 2022 season and things got even worse.

Vaughn is nothing more than a replacement-level player. Benintendi has been injured or inconsistent since he signed the richest free-agent deal in team history--one that is still well below the $100 million or more going rate on the market for impact talent.

Robert Jr. looks like he would rather be any place but on a losing club. That is not exactly the recipe for a foundation of overachieving and winning 70 games even if the kids can play.

Instead, what should have been communicated is that the revenue streams are still unknown with the new Chicago Sports Network. Then mix in getting a look at some of these young players at the big-league level this year, the team has determined to roll with a youth movement.

The Sox should be selling hope and promise instead of a wet blanket.

Getz should have communicated a vision where the Sox are about to become a pitching factory like the Cleveland Guardians. You paint the picture that Ramos and Quero have a ceiling of being foundational players and that Montgomery's struggles this year at Triple-A was just part of the development process.

You admit your mistake in not being patient with Fletcher and that an offseason of working in the batting cage will help his bat catch up to his elite major-league glove.

He should have said the club is going to scour the scrap heap to find more players like Jacob Amaya who still have talent that deserves a second chance.

In essence, someone should go back and see what the franchise did in 1998 after the White Flag trade of 1997. The club embraced the youth movement and sold the kids can play every chance it could get. It eventually yielded better days anchored by Mark Buerhle and Maggilo Ordonez.

Being able to communicate a vision is something Getz has not been able to do, along with having much success in free agency. Outside of Erick Fedde and DeJong's home runs, his failures in the free-agent market contributed to this disaster of a season.

That is why it is fine to sit out the free-agent market again. Just do a better job of explaining why.