While Chris Getz’s first season as the White Sox manager has been tumultuous to say the least, he at least has stuck to a common theme among all his moves. He has made it extremely clear that he wants his guys on the and around the team. Now, it is unclear whether they are truly his guys or if they are Jerry’s guys, but he has made a lot of significant moves, replacing a lot of front office personnel, as well as many players on the field.
While in an ideal world, every single general manager wants his guys around him and on the field. When Ryan Poles took the job as the Bears GM, he gutted the team quickly for a few reasons, but he got the guys he wanted on the field. However, we are seeing turnover in the White Sox organization at a rate in which we’ve rarely seen before.
One of the first major moves Chris Getz made as the GM was trading Dylan Cease, a player acquired by Rick Hahn. Since that, he has tried to trade any other player that could hold value from the team that wasn’t acquired by him. He has tried to move Garret Crochet, Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi, and Andrew Vaughn, all players acquired by Rick Hahn. He successfully moved Aaron Bummer, Michael Kopech, and Gregory Santos. While this was all a part of rebuilding the team, it still is very clear that he wants his guys, as it might be worth it to keep younger stars like Crochet.
That isn’t the only time he has wanted to fill the roster with his own guys, as when the rosters expanded by two players in September, he brought up Jairo Iriarte and Zach Deloach, both acquired by Getz in the off-season. There were plenty of players that could have been called up, but he chose two of his own acquisitions.
This trend has continued into the managerial ranks, as well as the front office. He fired Pedro Grifol, who was hired when Hahn was the GM, and now he gets to pick his own manager for his team.
Chris Getz is now working his way through the front office, as he is replacing many scouts and scouting directors. They fired the director of international scouting, Marco Paddy, and replaced him with David Keller, which seems like a very solid move.
On top of that, he has fired many of their longtime scouts and is in the process of overhauling the whole scouting department. This was long overdue, so it is good to see Chris Getz trying to bring the White Sox into the 21st century.
Regardless of who is ordering these moves to be made, it is good that Getz is on top of it, as this was long overdue. The White Sox have needed to make significant changes throughout the organization and they are finally starting to happen. If Chris Getz can show he is a competent drafter and talent evaluator in trades, he could stick around for a little bit.
I’m ok with cleaning house but Getz has got crop back in return.
Honest question; How is David Keller a “very solid move”? No one I’ve read knows anything about the guy. So, really, what has he accomplished?