GM Chris Getz needs a timetable for a Chicago White Sox rebuild plan
The general manager must communicate when fans can expect the team to be competitive.
The Chicago White Sox long-term plans for turning into a championship contender could turn into a long time waiting game.
This has been an historically bad season for the White Sox, and the unfortunate thing is a brighter future doesn't look to be right around the corner. Despite being on pace to post 120 losses this year, 2025 campaign could find the team staring at yet another 100-loss total.
General manager Chris Getz knew this wasn't going to be a quick fix when he took the job back last August.
However, when asked what type of timetable he has for getting things turned around, Getz was noncommittal in his response.
Last June Getz said, "It's tough for me to put an exact timetable on it. These types of things are certainly fluid. There’s players that perhaps take a little bit longer to be ready to be productive at the major league level. You’ve got injuries that can happen. You’ve always got to have your thumb on (the pulse of) it, … to be able to adjust accordingly."
Getz added, "I don’t think it would be appropriate or accurate enough to put a date out there in which we feel like we’re ready to compete for the division. Right now, we’re focused on getting these guys acclimated to the major leagues and positioning them well for major league success.”
While understandable that putting a date out there places pressure on Getz to either get it right by then or be fired, it isn't fair to the fan base to ask to be even more patient than they have been.
The 81-81 season following the playoff appearance three years ago was disappointing, yet there was a feeling that the talent was there to get back to winning the division and the down year was just a bump in the road.
That bump turned into a Chicago-sized pothole and back-to-back 100-loss seasons are inexcusable.
Getz's asking for patience is certainly going to be put to the test if things don't change quickly. What's worse is whatever rebuilding plan he has in mind doesn't seem to show signs of this team being pointed in the right direction.
The firing of manager Pedro Grifol needed to be done and marked a step in the right direction. Now comes the hard part in which Getz needs to find the right person to guide the team back to becoming relevant. Getz has already said he would look for someone who is in uniform and from outside the organization.
The recent trade deadline came and went with the White Sox moving everyone but the piece most prized by teams, pitcher Garrett Crochet. Not only did the team not move Crochet, but the prevailing thought is the team failed to get enough in return for the likes of Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, and Michael Kopech.
While it takes two to tango in a trade, the fact the White Sox didn't get a better haul has made fans wonder if Getz is the right man to get things on track. Teams knew the White Sox would be desperate to move pieces and took advantage of the situation.
Thus, it seemed Getz wasn't really dealing from a position of strength like he thought he had or believes he will have going into the offseason.
The offseason could prove to be pivotal for the future of the club and not only because of a potential Crochet trade.
The inability to move Crochet also seemed to catch Getz off-guard as he was surprised by his demands of getting an extension from any team he was traded to.
Getz's decision to hold on to him because the return wasn't what he wanted seemed to be in contrast to reports teams were willing to deal even with the extension requirement.
Getz needs to improve a farm system which has been one of the lowest rated in baseball since he was in charge of it.
Developing talent has not been a strength of the organization and Getz may want to look into taking a page from his managerial search book and apply it to scouting and development at the farm level.
Bringing in new and accomplished people from elsewhere could help players such as shortstop Colson Montgomery, pitchers Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith and catcher Edgar Quero realize their potential.
The aforementioned players are all ranked in the top 100 of minor league prospects and have helped the farm system go from 26th in overall ranking last year to 11th. While that looks good on paper, the reality is the ranking means nothing if the players don't meet their potential, and the White Sox haven't done a good job with recently drafted or ranked talent.
There is a lot on the table for Getz to sort through before the start of next season. Whatever the plan is, it needs to provide positive results and needs to do so in a quick amount of time.
feed