The 2025 season will be significantly more interesting for the White Sox, as it is likely that many of the top prospects will get an opportunity to play everyday. However, with the moves that Chris Getz has made this offseason, he has made one thing abundantly clear.
By all accounts, Chris Getz wants his prospects to get significant playing time in Chicago this year. But, he has made it clear that the job will not be handed to them in Spring Training. Getz has made multiple major league and minor league signings that can take the place of any prospect if they don’t perform well in Spring Training.
At the outset of the offseason, there wasn’t clear competition for the prospects who were looking to get playing time at the starting infield spots. There were a few incumbents, but nobody who a top prospect like Colson Montgomery couldn’t reasonably beat out.
Now, a few months in, the infield looks completely different. Getz recently added Josh Rojas on a major league deal and Bobby Dalbec on a minor league deal. At the beginning of the offseason, Getz also added Nick Maton on a minor league deal, who is also expected to compete for a spot, as he has had some success in the major leagues.
The infield is not the only place that Getz has added plenty of competition, as it extends to the outfield, pitching rotation and bullpen, as well as catcher. With the added competition, there are tons of potential combinations for the opening day roster.
At catcher, the White Sox have incumbent Korey Lee, who showed signs of being a solid player, but had a tough second half. In the offseason, they added Matt Thais and Omar Narvaez, to go along with two of their top prospects, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. This will be an interesting competition to watch, as both of the prospects played very well in AAA and could easily be MLB ready.
In the outfield, the White Sox went into the offseason with Andrew Benintendi, Luis Robert Jr., Dominic Fletcher, Zach Deloach, and the ever forgotten Oscar Colas. Now, they have added both Austin Slater and Mike Tauchmann on MLB deals, making the outfield even more difficult for the younger guys to crack.
On the pitching side, the White Sox have added Martin Perez, Cam Booser, Bryse Wilson, Tyler Gilbert, Penn Murfee, and Shane Smith, with a few more relievers coming in on minor league deals. This adds a ton of completion to the bullpen and the starting rotation, as the White Sox have 8-9 young pitchers vying for playing time in Chicago, whether it is in the bullpen or in the rotation.
At first glance, it seems that the White Sox are allowing average players take playing time from some of their top prospects. But, this is the best thing the White Sox could do. In the last rebuild, there was too much reliance on the prospects to pan out, leaving them with few alternatives. Now, the prospects have to earn their playing time, which can hopefully translate to sustained success.
Now, there is a fine line to all of this. Once one of the prospects shows he belongs, you immediately start to play them everyday, as there is no sense in taking at-bats or innings away from them. But, until they prove they can beat some of these players out, make them compete.
At the end of the day, I am sure the plan is to let some of these veterans get playing time to be flipped at the deadline, but if any of the prospects are showing they can play right away, Getz should not hesitate to get them on the roster. If they handle this correctly, it will turn out to be a fantastic plan.
Regardless of how it turns out, Chris Getz is making it very clear through his roster moves that there will be competition for this roster, and nothing will be given to any player who hasn’t already earned it, and on this roster, there aren’t many.
