CHICAGO (670 The Score) – New White Sox assistant general manager Josh Barfield’s initial goal is to help revamp the philosophy of scouting and development in his new organization’s farm system like he did in Arizona in his old job.
Barfield, 40, recently joined the White Sox after working for the Diamondbacks for the past nine years. He was Arizona’s director of player development for the past four seasons, and the fruit of his labor is paying off now as the Diamondbacks are on the verge of landing a wild-card berth to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
The Diamondbacks are flush with players who were added and developed under Barfield’s watch.
“Josh is a very talented and hard-working guy in our game,” new White Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “He has a done a lot with Diamondbacks if you look around on their roster of the players he helped develop in their system. We have had good discussions on how they went from a situation like ours to a contending team right now. He is connector of people and an energizer wherever he goes. He will do that in our organization.”
In recent years, the White Sox’s farm system was consistently rated as one of the worst in baseball. That situation has improved in the eyes of many analysts in 2023, as ESPN currently rates the White Sox’s system as No.
13 in MLB and MLB.com rates it as No. 20.
Still, there’s a great deal of work to be done, and Barfield was drawn by both that challenge and Getz’s promise that he’d be on the ground floor of the decision-making process and have influence in helping revamp the organization that’s on the verge of a 100-loss season in 2023.
“A player’s makeup is a huge part of drafting and developing players,” Barfield said. “We need to have a combination of talented guys who are high-character players. The ones that have both are usually the guys who advance and get the most out of their abilities.
“To see Arizona here and some of the finished products on the field is gratifying. Especially where the organization was a few years ago, I hope it will give a lot of hope and optimism here for the White Sox. They have really some good talent in the minor leagues as well as the majors.”
Barfield further detailed what his role will be with the White Sox.
“I will be doing different things, but I will concentrate on the farm system initially,” Barfield said. “That is where I have the most experience and hope to bring a different perspective. I think Chris has done a great job on the PD side. I probably bring a little different perspective from my previous experience. Down the road, we will hire a farm director. But until then, that will be a part of what I do, including roster construction and player acquisitions.”
Barfield was asked how he might be different from other farm directors who develop what's given to them by the pro and amateur scouting departments.
“I can relate to the guy in the minor leagues who had to grind to the big leagues,” said Barfield, who played four MLB seasons from 2006-’09. “So in my job, I have that perspective. But now being on this side of the decision-making, you add into the equation there is the human side that can transcend the data and analytics at times.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.