How do you rank Chris Getz' GM tenure so far?

[WestEddy]

  On 3/24/2025 at 2:25 PM, Quin said:

I'm being generous and giving him a D for these exact same reasons.

He doesn't get a honeymoon period cause he was part of the same regime that was an abject failure. His first big swing, the Cease trade, looks like a complete bust right now (unless you really buy into Twitter videos from Samuel Zavala's trainer). 

He basically duplicated the Sale or Quintana deal - so we're supposed to believe that a guy that was in the org for the last go around can land the plane this time? He's not the first GM in baseball history to walk into a bad situation, but the only GM to match his futility was one in charge of an expansion franchise in the 60s and this is after he talked a big game (that big ol' defense quote), so he failed by his own standards.

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Dave Dombrowski took over the Tigers 4/8/2002, and the 2003 Tigers went 43-119.

[Quin]

  On 3/24/2025 at 2:28 PM, WestEddy said:

Dave Dombrowski took over the Tigers 4/8/2002, and the 2003 Tigers went 43-119.

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Touche, I missed his hiring year.

If Getz signs a future Hall of Famer next year like Dombrowski, my grade for him will go up.

[Dick Allen]

It will all boil down to getting better players. Hopefully these prospects are better players, but we were all fooled by that before. The guy calling the shots is the same guy "developing" Moncada and Kopech and Eloy and all the rest, albeit at the backend of their develpments, but we also have a couple of those as well. The Cease trade doesn't seem so great now. That can change, but Thorpe gets service time not to play. Hopefully the Crochet trade works out. Hopefully what they get for Robert actually can play. Hopefully being fired by the Orioles doesn't mean you aren't a hitting guru. To me the grade is incomplete, but if I had to give a real grade, it would be F+. Not a total fail as there still is some potential, but these guys have to perform.  I still think he was the wrong man for the job.

[southsider2k5]

  On 3/24/2025 at 11:45 AM, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The worst team in MLB history followed by another year where you say they MUST be one of the three worst, nets a C.

I hope you're not teaching America's youth with those standards.

I love that you call the crochet deal a win/big return. Let's wait and see there, Jimmy.

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While calling everyone else short sighted.

[WhiteSox2023]

  On 3/24/2025 at 11:45 AM, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The worst team in MLB history followed by another year where you say they MUST be one of the three worst, nets a C.

I hope you're not teaching America's youth with those standards.

I love that you call the crochet deal a win/big return. Let's wait and see there, Jimmy.

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And while the Crochet trade looks good right now, the Cease and Santos trades have already aged like crap.  The return from those two trades looks disastrous.

[Snopek]

  On 3/24/2025 at 2:04 PM, Kyyle23 said:

These personal grades all boil down to your believe in this process.

i can’t give this more than a D.  All of the hires everyone is excited about don’t mean anything until the product on the field improves, minor and major leagues.  The minors ranking isn’t exciting until it continues through multiple seasons, we have seen this sort of bump in minors rankings when the team sells off.  It never stays.  

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  On 3/24/2025 at 2:09 PM, Bob Sacamano said:

BINGO.

Those hires are all hypothetical until we see positive results.

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I think I mostly agree here, but I'd say the grade is more about how patient you're willing to be rather than your current belief in the process.

Most of the hires made and changes being implemented are longer term things, so it'll be awhile before we know what kind of results they'll yield.

For that reason, I disagree equally with giving an F because the roster right now sucks and giving a higher grade because changes have been made without knowing if they were beneficial changes yet.

[Kyyle23]

  On 3/24/2025 at 2:28 PM, WestEddy said:

Dave Dombrowski took over the Tigers 4/8/2002, and the 2003 Tigers went 43-119.

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Yea then he ended it right there.  He didn’t become part of a promise to fix everything as quick as possible, which has evolved to “ain’t s%*# happening until after the CBA is resolved” which seems to be accepted 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

  On 3/24/2025 at 2:04 PM, Kyyle23 said:

These personal grades all boil down to your believe in this process.

i can’t give this more than a D.  All of the hires everyone is excited about don’t mean anything until the product on the field improves, minor and major leagues.  The minors ranking isn’t exciting until it continues through multiple seasons, we have seen this sort of bump in minors rankings when the team sells off.  It never stays.  
 

it will be interesting to see the temperature of this board if they lose 120 again.   A lot of people will be ok with them getting back to only losing 100 again, I hope they can get that 20 game improvement but it’s really hard to see

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The hires are just the Sox copying what other teams do. You can catch up that way but will then fall behind again. 

Getz isn't doing anything new, so I'm not going to get too excited about that piece. 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

  On 3/24/2025 at 2:28 PM, WestEddy said:

Dave Dombrowski took over the Tigers 4/8/2002, and the 2003 Tigers went 43-119.

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I've hated on Dave at points in his career, but imagine comparing Dave D to Chris Getz. 

By the time Dave took over the Tigers he had already built two franchises.

[T R U]

  On 3/24/2025 at 2:52 PM, Snopek said:

I think I mostly agree here, but I'd say the grade is more about how patient you're willing to be rather than your current belief in the process.

Most of the hires made and changes being implemented are longer term things, so it'll be awhile before we know what kind of results they'll yield.

For that reason, I disagree equally with giving an F because the roster right now sucks and giving a higher grade because changes have been made without knowing if they were beneficial changes yet.

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The question is how do you rank it so far though, at least that's how I look at it. I don't think this could have possibly gone any worse through a little over a year and if it couldn't be any worse how can it not be a failing grade, so far?

[WestEddy]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:16 PM, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I've hated on Dave at points in his career, but imagine comparing Dave D to Chris Getz. 

By the time Dave took over the Tigers he had already built two franchises.

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And in his third, just missed being the biggest failure in baseball history by 2 losses. 

[T R U]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:29 PM, WestEddy said:

And in his third, just missed being the biggest failure in baseball history by 2 losses. 

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He's done almost as much in the last 20 years as a GM as the Sox have done as a franchise in their 125 year history. If that's what Getz turns into, ill gladly admit how wrong I was. 

[southsider2k5]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:16 PM, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I've hated on Dave at points in his career, but imagine comparing Dave D to Chris Getz. 

By the time Dave took over the Tigers he had already built two franchises.

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He also got carte blanche on the free agent market and plugged a lot of key guys in that way.

[Kyyle23]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:29 PM, WestEddy said:

And in his third, just missed being the biggest failure in baseball history by 2 losses. 

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Do you believe at any point, the JR led Sox will make comparable moves to this?  I just don’t.  Hopefully Ishbia comes in and allows it, but right now in this current situation it’s incredibly hard for me to see the continued building towards success (which includes signing big FAs)

 

[Dick Allen]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:13 PM, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The hires are just the Sox copying what other teams do. You can catch up that way but will then fall behind again. 

Getz isn't doing anything new, so I'm not going to get too excited about that piece. 

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I agree with this. They will always be playing catch up instead of innovating.

[Snopek]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:21 PM, T R U said:

The question is how do you rank it so far though, at least that's how I look at it. I don't think this could have possibly gone any worse through a little over a year and if it couldn't be any worse how can it not be a failing grade, so far?

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I guess I'm putting more weight on process than results. Results wise, obviously it couldn't have gone any worse. But process wise, I think doubling down on the remaining core instead of tearing it down to the studs would have been way worse. 

[almagest]

Gave him a D so far. This can change quite a bit over the next year or two, depending on how things go.

Positives:

• I like a lot of what's been happening behind the scenes. They're modernizing the organization and making what appear to be some good hires. Time will tell how these work out, but they are digging out from such a massive hole left by KW and Hahn so it's going to take a bit.
• They're leaning into their competitive advantage drafting Sale-like pitchers, and the results so far are encouraging.
• Fedde was a diamond in the rough, and a smart signing.
• Crochet became a premier starter and was traded for a really nice package of prospects.
• Last years' draft looks solid. Interested to see if that continues with the next two.

Negatives:

• Recency bias, but the rash of TJ surgeries and other injuries is scary. They started to have issues with injuries when Herm left and that continues. They need to figure out their medical staffing and training issues ASAP.
• Getz had a pretty poor track record as director of minor league development. Some of this is the lack of talent in the org once the big prospects came up, but you'd expect they'd find a way to make SOME of these guys good.
• Colson's regression last year. How much is on him, on his back injury, and on the org?
• It's early still, but the trade returns for Cease and Fedde look pretty terrible so far. If Vargas carries over his spring improvements that will help a LOT, as will Zavala figuring it out and Thorpe making a recovery for 2026.
• They seem to struggle quite a bit identifying hitting talent, and then getting those players to maximize their potential. Fletcher and Deloach are prime examples. Hopefully hiring Ryan Fuller and establishing a modernized identity and process helps, but they need to fix this.

[Ducksnort]

  On 3/24/2025 at 11:11 AM, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I think everyone is being way too short-sighted. I understand the lack of patience though. There’s a clear plan in place. Chris Getz totally revamped the organization in regards to pitching philosophy, hitting philosophy, research and development, international scouting and professional scouting and for the first time in like 25 years, linked all the different departments together. It had to be done. I don’t know that it’ll work because ultimately, they need to find good players but these changes put them in a better place to find good players. 
 

The trades have been uneven at best and while the draft record appears to be promising, we just don’t know yet. They’ll be awful in 2025 by design though. The owner won’t allow the front office to spend and it’s also imperative to draft as high as possible in 2026 so being a bottom 3 team this year is essential. They have to get more out of trades too and Luis Robert package has to hit like Crochet deal. They also need some surprise trade return somewhere like a monster Davis Martin package. 
 

In an optimistic view, they have a top farm system and clean financial outlook going forward. They’ll never spend as much as we want but I do believe they’ll spend because they have to. They have no commitments. I do think Chris Getz understands the assignment more than his predecessors though. He knows who he works for. Build a large core of young pitching, find a process to develop bats and focus on premium positions. They can spend on first base, DH, back end starters and bullpen once the time comes if you have a cost-controlled young core. 
 

It’s hard to give a grade. I’d probably go with a C overall but it’ll depend on drafting and developing players ultimately. 

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Social media is a breeding ground for short sightedness. Has been ever since it was created. (side bar, I know)

[WestEddy]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:34 PM, T R U said:

He's done almost as much in the last 20 years as a GM as the Sox have done as a franchise in their 125 year history. If that's what Getz turns into, ill gladly admit how wrong I was. 

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We're not grading Getz on what you feel he's going to do in the next 20 years. It's on what he's done so far. He's recognized and acknowledged problems in the organization and has made decisive moves to correct them. He's also identified one real strength and has leaned into it with his sole draft and off-season pitching moves. Two minor league teams have played for their league championship series and one won. 

Quin singled out Getz as the only GM to come close to the Mets' record. The Tigers came within a game of it. If you're grading Getz mostly on that 41-121 record, then no qualifications apply to Dombrowski's 119 loss season. And if you're going to bring up Getz' uneven record of trades, Dombrowski traded Brian Moehler and Jeff Weaver, basically, for Carlos Pena and Jeremy Bonderman. Dombrowski's early trades really didn't move the needle, either. 

[Quin]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:53 PM, WestEddy said:

We're not grading Getz on what you feel he's going to do in the next 20 years. It's on what he's done so far. He's recognized and acknowledged problems in the organization and has made decisive moves to correct them. He's also identified one real strength and has leaned into it with his sole draft and off-season pitching moves. Two minor league teams have played for their league championship series and one won. 

Quin singled out Getz as the only GM to come close to the Mets' record. The Tigers came within a game of it. If you're grading Getz mostly on that 41-121 record, then no qualifications apply to Dombrowski's 119 loss season. And if you're going to bring up Getz' uneven record of trades, Dombrowski traded Brian Moehler and Jeff Weaver, basically, for Carlos Pena and Jeremy Bonderman. Dombrowski's early trades really didn't move the needle, either. 

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Again, touche and  I'm now gonna move the goalpost (and I acknowledge that): Dombrowski also won a World Series 6 years earlier. He did have one of the biggest disaster trades of all time as Expos GM(Randy Johnson), but he was someone with bona fides.

Now, to give Getz a point back: Dombrowski also had an owner that was basically the opposite of Jerry when it came to spending.

[JoshPR]

  On 3/24/2025 at 11:11 AM, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I think everyone is being way too short-sighted. I understand the lack of patience though. There’s a clear plan in place. Chris Getz totally revamped the organization in regards to pitching philosophy, hitting philosophy, research and development, international scouting and professional scouting and for the first time in like 25 years, linked all the different departments together. It had to be done. I don’t know that it’ll work because ultimately, they need to find good players but these changes put them in a better place to find good players. 
 

The trades have been uneven at best and while the draft record appears to be promising, we just don’t know yet. They’ll be awful in 2025 by design though. The owner won’t allow the front office to spend and it’s also imperative to draft as high as possible in 2026 so being a bottom 3 team this year is essential. They have to get more out of trades too and Luis Robert package has to hit like Crochet deal. They also need some surprise trade return somewhere like a monster Davis Martin package. 
 

In an optimistic view, they have a top farm system and clean financial outlook going forward. They’ll never spend as much as we want but I do believe they’ll spend because they have to. They have no commitments. I do think Chris Getz understands the assignment more than his predecessors though. He knows who he works for. Build a large core of young pitching, find a process to develop bats and focus on premium positions. They can spend on first base, DH, back end starters and bullpen once the time comes if you have a cost-controlled young core. 
 

It’s hard to give a grade. I’d probably go with a C overall but it’ll depend on drafting and developing players ultimately. 

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Great post. The simple fact that he started getting rid of the dead weight and revamping and realizing the Sox org needed a change is a plus and  I'm willing to see what happens.  People here are anxious and rightfully so. As fans no one wants to go through what happened last year I'll say C+ B-

[Chisoxfn]

D - He has done some good, and in general I have liked most of his hires.  But I also think he hasn't maximized his asset value in trade(s)...albeit the Crochet deal was my favorite of the bunch so maybe he is improving. I will caveat he is probably a full grade below because he was part of the farm system that has developed no one before he took the role. If he was a pure outsider I would not have been as harsh for the current state of the system and lack of general development.

I'm also probably a grade skeptic because the only way the Sox have developed players is via trade acquisition - they really have done a poor job building a sustainable minor league model via the draft.  I know it takes time - but I am NOT yet there that I have seen him do the same here. I also have NOT seen him leverage shorter term deals on some people who can accelerate their ability to land some picks / players at the deadline (maybe sign a closer to a 1YR deal where you know they'll have value at the deadline, etc).  Plus places where they could buy-low and play - haven't seen them do that, despite having a lot of payroll flexibility.  

So solid D job.  

[greg775]

Should be interesting if the fans boo a lot on Opening Day.

[caulfield12]

  On 3/24/2025 at 3:29 PM, WestEddy said:

And in his third, just missed being the biggest failure in baseball history by 2 losses. 

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Except he's now brought FOUR different teams up to championship level.

Getz's high point might be fourth place in the AL Central.  Might.

I'm sure someone will argue his methods are way too expensive...but the second Marlins' championship was built almost entirely around youth.

[caulfield12]

  On 3/24/2025 at 4:12 PM, JoshPR said:

Great post. The simple fact that he started getting rid of the dead weight and revamping and realizing the Sox org needed a change is a plus and  I'm willing to see what happens.  People here are anxious and rightfully so. As fans no one wants to go through what happened last year I'll say C+ B-

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What other choice was there with the lowest or second lowest payroll in all of baseball?