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It's a narrative crushing hire. They didn't hire the LaRussa guy, the cheap guy or the ex-Royal guy. They hired the best available young manager who has turned down other manager jobs which means Chris had to sell him on his vision for the organization. It's a very exciting hire.

Haven’t been able to say this very often, but it’s been a solid 2 days for the Sox.

I simply don't find the negative banter and back-and-forth personal attacks here all that interesting. I check in because, in fairness, this site posts White Sox news/information more quickly than anywhere else.

This is just so Soto will be able to take a break vs tough lefties.

So his opinion is different than the echo chamber on here? Oh the horror.

I kind of enjoy the info that Harold provides to the board (for free by the way). All of the bitching and moaning about him and his info is fucking absurd. It would suck if he went away or stopped sharing with random message board people.

I don't mind the negativity when it's warranted. And it surely is with the state of the organization. It just has come to dominate and overwhelm any value added conversation here. One can craft nuanced posts picking apart why the Vargas trade sucked. See Timmy U for instance on warning signs, red flags, and prospect evaulation. Compare that to someone like Whitesox2023 whose posts consist of "Lol Getz Sucks!" or "Coulda had Keaschall!" Dude could be replaced with a bot or a soundboard and no one could tell the difference. There are so many posters here whose takes I enjoy reading. It's a shame those posts often drown amongst so much s%*# posting. But yea. I suppose I'm whining about the whiners. I guess I should accept it will be this way until/if the organization manages to right the ship.

I’m calling the Sox and buying season tickets. This guy checks all the boxes. No power, doesn’t get on base, is over 30. Just what the team needs.

I know it's your bit to take things to the extreme, but it just makes you look like a clown. Will Venable may be a good hire. Maybe he won't. None of us really know. I agree it's a positive that it isn't a former Royal or someone with close ties to La Russa, but as Ray was pointing out, it's sad the bar is low enough that excitement comes from the Sox not doing what they always do. But that's what happens when you've turned into one of the worst franchises in sports. Expectations become so low, that anything slightly different feels like a huge win. Everyone on this board hopes this is the start of a new chapter of Sox Baseball. But it's absolutely asinine to look down or judge a fan for having doubts about this organization putting in a real effort to turn this franchise into a perennial winner.

^This tells me it was a terrible move. The team is screwed.

Fantastic hire. Great work, Men.

I was told they're still doing final interviews and nothing has been decided yet.

You literally accused a poster about lying about where they lived.

Unless my information is wrong, teams teams are required to place certain Rule-5 eligible players on their 40-man rosters in order to prevent other teams from prying them away in December's Rule 5 Draft. With the unofficial signing of outfielder Austin Slater to a major league deal, the White Sox will have 37 players on their 40-man roster. There's certainly enough chaff in that roster (Chuckie Robinson, Corey Julks, Jesse Scholtens and Justin Anderson to name a few) that could be removed, so by all means, the Sox could find a way to protect more than three players from Rule 5 selection. Below is who I believe are the twelve options (in order) the team could most consider for this roster protection. 1, Colson Montgomery (22) -- SS (Charlotte). Montgomery is the one no-brainer. Yes, he struggled for most of 2024 (.214/.329/.381), but still managed to produce 42 extra-base hits and 69 walks, Surprisingly, he fared better against southpaws (.248/.327/.376) than righties (.201/.329/.384). He likely put too much pressure on himself to produce numbers, but he was still playing against pitchers five years older than he on average. In September he slashed a more respectable .264/.357/.458 with 4 homers. Just as importantly, he lit up the scoreboard for the Glendale Desert Dogs in 45 at-bats by slugging .313/.511/.656 with three homers, four stolen bases and 10 walks while fanning just six times. Things may be starting to click for the 6'3" youngster, and with a hot spring, he just may be able to crack the Opening Day roster. In the meantime, he ranks 3rd among Sox prospects according to MLB Pipeline and is a borderline Top-100 overall prospect. 2. Wilfred Veras (22) -- OF (Birmingham). Like Montgomery, Veras' numbers slumped when compared to an outstanding 2023. Also like Montgomery, his numbers improved late in the year as well. With Birmingham, he slashed .267/.319/.424 in a tough ballpark to hit with 44 extra-base hits (16 homers), 34 walks (as opposed to 140 strikeouts) and 25 stolen bases. Not considered by many scouts to be a speed demon, he's been highly productive on the bases with 49 stolen bases in 2023. His plate discipline vastly improved in the season's last two months as he produced 18 walks as opposed to 37 punchouts (as opposed to 16 walks and 103 strikeouts the previous four months). This improvement resulted in a combined .297/.376/.465 slash line. He currently ranks 25th among Sox prospects per MLB Pipeline, and should begin next year in Charlotte. He could be the long-term answer in right field if he continues his recent improvements. 3, Juan Carela (22) -- RHSP (Birmingham). Falling just below Veras' MLB Sox prospect ranking at 26th, Carela produced nearly identical results with Winston-Salem and Birmingham. For the year, he produced a respectable 3.71 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 23 starts (106.2 innings), as he surrendered just 87 hits and 45 walks while fanning 114. Like Veras, I expect Carela to begin next year with Charlotte. He's pitched splendidly for the Sox since they acquired him in 2023's trade deadline from the Yankees for reliever Keynan Middleton. Righties hit just .205 versus his offerings last year, as opposed to a .253 average by lefties. If he can improve his change-up against lefties, he could become a solid rotation piece in 2026 for the Sox. 4. Trey McGough (26) LHRP (Charlotte). Acquired in last year's tradeline from Baltimore in the Eloy Jimenez deal, he produced an outstanding 1.98 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over 81.2 innings by surrendering just 54 hits (.188 OBA) and 29 walks while striking out 88. What's more, his ERA has never finished above 3.86 in his five-year minor league career. His numbers versus lefties and righties were nearly identical, Certainly, the Sox were aware of his pending Rule 5 status for this year when making the Jimenez deal, so it seems likely that McGough will be the fourth option for Rule-5 protection. 5. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa (24) -- RHRP (Charlotte). This is where things start becoming less clear regarding who'll be protected. At the time the White Sox acquired him from the Rangers in the May 8 trade for outfielder Robbie Grossman, the native Hawaiian had a 0.00 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 10 relief outings. He did post a respectable 3.24 ERA and 1.08 WHIP for Birmingham in 25 outings. However, in Hoopii-Tuionetoa's nine appearances with Charlotte, he got lit up with a 13.50 ERA and 1.85 WHIP. He could have been fatigued toward the season, r the small ballpark in Charlotte could've caused problems. Hopefully, this is just an aberration as he's expected to be a member on the Sox Opening Day roster with a solid Spring Training. 6. Garrett Schoenle (26) -- LHRP (Birmingham). Schoenle followed up his worst professional season in 2023 (6.22 ERA, 1.57 WHIP) with his best one in 2024 (1.67 ERA/0.94 WHIP). While last year was primarily spent in the rotation, this year was spent mostly in the bullpen. In 70 innings, he allowed just 43 hits (.171 OBA) and 23 walks while fanning 88. Schoenle was Mr. Consistency, as no monthly ERA was above 2.25; also lefties hit .170 versus his offerings while righties hit .171 against him. Also, his numbers in the bullpen and his spot-starter roles were nearly identical. It would be easy to understand if the Sox selected Schoenle over Hoopii-Tuionetoa based upon those impressive results. 7. Adisyn Coffey (24) -- RHRP (Charlotte). Coffey was considered simply an under-slot 3rd Round selection from Wabash Valley Community College in the 2020 Draft, as his selection enabled the team to spend over-slot money on prep star Jared Kelley. However, Coffey has proven thus far to be the better of the two pitchers, as he combined with Birmingham and Charlotte for a 2.04 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 35 relief appearances, In that span totaling over 52 innings, he allowed just 37 hits and 22 walks while striking out 55. Lefties hit just .160 against his offerings, and like Schoenle, surrendered just one homer for all of 2024. He's certainly in the mix with Hoopii-Tuionetoa and Schoenle for Rule 5 protection. 8. Caleb Freeman (26) -- RHRP (Birmingham). Selected in 2019's 15th round from Texas Tech, Freeman had the reputation of wildness which he hasn't totally shaken. He did post a respectable 3.92 ERA and 1.35 WHIP for Birmingham in 2024, as he allowed 33 hits (.208 OBA) and 26 walks while striking out 56. He also surrendered 5 homers in his 43 2/3 innings, which is similar to his career average. Mostly, his inconsistency is what brings him below the relievers already mentioned. His monthly ERA numbers were 3.00, 6.48, 0.00, 9.82, 1.04 and 4.91. Of course, ERA stats don't tell the whole picture, but in Freeman's case, it could explain why he hasn't received the promotion to Charlotte yet. 9. Jerold Rosado (22) -- RHRP (Winston-Salem). Rosada was acquired in last year's trade deadline from the Royals for infielder Paul DeJong, and he continued to pitch quite well. He combined with the Royal and Sox systems for an outstanding 2.11 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 55 1/3 innings, as he allowed just 42 hits (.214 OBA), 15 walks and 68 strikeouts. Lefties hit .224 against him, while righties fared marginally worse at .207. I'd have Rosado higher on this list, but since he's only had 10 appearances beyond Low-A ball, the odds of him being selected in the Rule 5 Draft won't be that high. 10. Adam Hackenberg (25) -- C (Charlotte). Hackenberg's offensive numbers (.210/.315/.253) in 2024 were a significant drop-off from his 2023 numbers with Birmingham and Charlotte, but he's here due to the scarcity of the catcher position which is usually in demand (along with pitching) in Rule 5 drafts. He's considered an asset behind the plate, so despite his numbers, it won't be a shock to see him selected. 11. Andrew Dalquist (24) -- RHRP (Birmingham). The former 3rd-round selection has had a disappointing minor league career to date, although he resurrected it significantly after a conversion from the rotation to begin this year's campaign. He posted a 3.06 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 47 innings for Birmingham, as he surrendered just 36 hits (.217 OBA) while fanning a solid 52. However, he got himself in trouble walking 27. In the past, he's given up lots of long balls; however, he surrendered just two in the friendly environs of Birmingham. His stock will escalate further if he can throw strikes, while still limiting the long ball, in the much more perilous Charlotte atmosphere. 12. DJ Gladney (23) -- OF (Birmingham). I nearly went with fellow Baron outfielder Terrell Tatum here, but since Gladney participated in this year's AFL, he deserves a shoutout here. He enjoyed his best minor league campaign with Winston-Salem and Birmingham in 2024 by slashing .246/.303/.450 -with 20 doubles and 16 homers spanning 353 at-bats. He also stole eight bases without getting caught. His strikeout rate has vastly improved since his 2023 effort when he struck out 173 times in 464 at-bats. I'll be fun to see how this local product builds upon his success in Charlotte next year, but in the meantime, the odds of Gladney's being selected in the Rule 5 draft is fairly small despite his overall improvements.

Only took until page 5 for people to be mad about hypothetical situations. Hell yes.

Getz setting Paul Janish up to succeed. Novel concept.

You gotta be seriously invested in the role to complain about waiver claims.

This post sucks

I don't know why half this thread is shitted up by Michael Kopech, who remains the only player in sports history to miss an entire season as a result of breaking up with his girlfriend.

This is a good post. It’s hard to be excited about the White Sox, but this is a really good move.

All of this has gotten very annoying. If you are going to think everything they do is meaningless then why are you still putting yourself through this?

Nice win for Chris Getz. Maybe the stuff about internal conflict on the hire was overblown, either way, good for him. He turned down the Mets and Steve Cohen, so I wonder how Getz sold him on this opportunity. Maybe he’s intrigued by having an opportunity to build something from the ground up

Ready for work Mr LaRussa!

What do you mean? Manfred literally said, “I have confidence that things are going to work out in Chicago and we’re going to continue to have two teams in Chicago.” Manfred just questioned the location of the current stadium, which is a bunch of BS anyways. The problem is the owner and how every decision he makes turns to cow dung.

Getz assembling the 2024 offense puts him in the Run Prevention Hall of Fame.

Why is this thread 3 pages

Who is going to lead off? The Schrif told us Nicky really took to leading off. He wasn't Rickey Henderson, but pretty close.

I think Benintendi has some left in the tank. The bat was solid June on, and was actually quite good in August and September. He also looked more athletic in the field as the season went on; its obvious he really wasn't healthy in 23 and early 24. He's overpaid without a doubt, but most FAs are, and I don't think its beyond the realm of possibility he could be positive WAR player the rest of his contract. I personally would just keep him. He's a good first half away from being tradable. Attaching him to Crochet is insanity and I refuse to believe its something they're actually considering. They'll be a bottom 5 payroll in the league even with Beni, and badly need to maximize talent infusion.

Here's the difference.. 2022 White Sox active roster payroll: $155,000,000 with no superstars just a collection of mediocre to ok players all making between 8-18 million. This is why you have an 81-81 team that can't get over the hump, among other things. 2024 Dodgers active roster payroll: $172,000,000 with superstar players like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani. 98 wins and a championship, nothing more to say. The White Sox will spend money, but they spend it in a totally inefficient way that is never going to work in todays game. The White Sox would rather have Joe Kelly, Kendall Graveman and AJ Pollock at a combined $29 million dollars than Bryce Harper at $27 million.

Trading Bummer was never the problem. It was the return targeting guys who were approaching free agency and DFA status instead of trying to refill the farm system. The problem was Getz trying to get a few more wins in 2024 versus worrying about 2028 and beyond.

This is the biggest part for me, bringing in (seemingly) smart people from outside the insular bubble is progress.

Hire is meaningless? Every single move matters at this point if we ever hope to get back to even mediocrity. This is a very nice move on paper and Sox fans should be excited accordingly.

Hmmm. The Sox already do a good job of preventing runs. Oh wait, preventing runs by the OTHER team. That makes more sense.

I don’t disagree. There’s no need to celebrate this move, and there’s no need to complain about it.

I didn't even have to see who this post was from to know who this post was from.

Don't sell this group short. Even when the team was good, Soxtalk sucked.

People vote against their self interests all of the time. They did it a week ago, and will continue to do so with the right story being fed to them.

Trading Crochet is such a no brainer. I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone that understands (a) where the Sox currently stand; (b) how the white sox historically have operated; (c) the dearth of high end positional talent; and (d) Crochet's general risk profile, current value and contractual status; can possibly believe that retaining Crochet is in the organization's best interest.

I'm moreso amused that there are folks who ACTUALLY give a bit of thought to this organization having a snowball's chance in hell, of getting a guy like Roki from Japan. How easily some forget the current level of ineptitude, all around.

It's already been decided he is a bum who will never work again. Sorry.

I personally think the White Sox have bent over backwards to appease Garrett Crochet. He could've easily been in AA last year starting and not using up service time.

A few things based on this thread. 1. Attaching Andrew Benintendi to Garrett Crochet would be a disaster. 2. If the White Sox can’t do better than Gavin Lux for Robert, they should and will hold. Need to maximize the return so I expect him on opening day roster. 3. I don’t love Boston as a Crochet trade partner. I doubt Roman Anthony or Mayer will be available and I’m not sure Kristian Robinson has a defensive position.

I hate that this is still a thing being discussed. I just cannot for the life of me fathom why prioritizing dumping Beni is a priority over maximizing return. It doesn’t make a single lick of sense. It’s the White Sox, so you can’t completely dismiss it, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Every time I gain the slightest bit of optimism about Getz, Harold pops in with this godforsaken idea that Chris must be pondering.

Not sure if you heard, but Getz could've gotten Jake McCarthy instead of Fletcher and Luke Keaschall instead of Vargas.

They were close with the Phillies at the deadline from what I've heard and it sounds Aiden Miller was a real sticking point. Dodgers talks involved Josue de Paula and River Ryan. The White Sox decided to hold obviously. I'd be really surprised if he's not moved this off-season.

Yes I'm sure so many teams were beating down the door to trade valuable prospects for one year of a guy with a 6.79 ERA in 2023 who walked 5.6 per 9, and seemed to fold under any pressure. Switching out guys on the 40 man bubble for prospects would've returned marginal ones at best, and people would've bitched about that, too. GMs aren't going to overpay for performance several years out of date, nor are they going to just buy the "his FIP was so much lower so give me good prospects!" argument either. Soroka was a good flier to see if he could recapture some of his 2019 success. He ended up being a solid bullpen guy and I wouldn't mind seeing him back, though since he elected free agency that's probably not an option. Schuster produced 1 WAR in 73 innings as a long man/spot starter and should be an ok arb eligible addition going forward for a bad team. Lopez did what he was expected to - play good defense at a non-premium position and not hit at all. He was brought in to likely fill in a gap until the Sox felt guys like Sosa were more ready. If he's back I'll be really surprised. Shewmake sucks and likely won't be with the team. At best they'll stick him in AAA. He was a former first round pick, though, and is the type of guy the Sox should be running through to see if they can get anything out of them. Gowens was age appropriate for AA and pitched solidly. He also strikes out over 10 batters per 9. He'll probably be in AAA next season and could end up being a useful bullpen guy. Not sure he's a starter long-term, but we'll see. Bummer rebounded nicely with a team that could play defense and actually scout. His contract extension has no bearing on the value of the trade. Overall, the trade was fine.

For someone to not remember such enormous aspects of the 2005 playoffs, it makes me think they weren’t actually that into it.

I would love: 1. For the Sox to be good 2. To be able to pay a fee to stream all Sox games, regardless of where they are, regardless of what network they're on, regardless of where I am.