GLENDALE, Ariz. (670 The Score) – Coming off a historically bad season, the White Sox feel confident in the foundational changes they’ve made and are optimistic about the crop of young talent in their farm system.
They just aren’t sure when that will translate to wins at the big league level.
"The organization from a talent standpoint is much better off than we were a year ago,” general manager Chris Getz said Tuesday, a day before pitchers and catchers were due to report for spring training. "We feel really good about the infrastructure. Now we need to go out there and find ways to get better. Every year you learn something new. The 2024 season provided a lot of clarity for many people, including myself. We found we had a lot more to do and changes that had to be made. I think we were able to accomplish that this offseason. That started with hiring Will Venable. We are fortunate to have him as a leader in our clubhouse and what we believe is surrounding him as good support. The ultimate goal is to get our players better.”
The White Sox hired Venable as their new manager in late October after he had spent the prior two seasons as the Rangers’ associate manager in Texas. Chicago had fired manager Pedro Grifol last August amid a nightmare season in which it went 41-121, setting the modern MLB record for the most losses in a single season. In December, the White Sox then traded ace Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox for a package of promising prospects.
Despite the woes of recent seasons, Getz believes the organization is on the right track. Getz took over as the White Sox’s lead executive in August 2023.
"Every year is important,” Getz said. “There were a lot of painful moments last year as we had to endure a lot of losing. I believe that experience will only make us stronger going forward. We believe we enter this spring training with a top-ranked farm system representing us well. I think it's going to be enjoyable to get major league experience for these guys and having Will and his staff starting fresh will be exciting.
“The first thing was to try and establish ourselves in so many parts of the organization. That starts with foundation pieces, beginning with international talent acquisition and a major restructuring to our research and development group. We made other major changes in our group. Now we have a chance to bring some of these moves and changes to life. I really believe in our process. If you feel like you are doing it the right way, it takes a minute to show up on our major league club.”
Getz remains unsure of the timeline for his club to have success at the MLB level. Instead, his focus is on improvement.
"We want to win more games this year,” Getz said. “What exactly is that amount? Time will tell. All I know is from a talent and infrastructure position, we are in a much better place. Player performance will dictate when we will be better at the major league level. With that being said, you can't get too far ahead of yourself. As an organization, we know where we are at and still have a lot work to do. We want our players to be challenged so when they are faced with what comes with this game, they are ready to go out and execute.
That is what Will and myself are hoping to instill this spring training.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.