Chicago White Sox: Chris Getz, senior vice president and general manager. Grade: F.
Getz took over last October and is in the process of doing the usual teardown. The results are predictable; lots of churn leading to baseball’s worst record.
As part of that teardown, Getz has consummated moves impacting an MLB-high 40 places on the major league roster. And the odd thing is that as bad as the Sox have been, Getz gets credit for one of the offseason’s best moves.
That was the December signing of an obscure journeyman pitcher, Erick Fedde, who had been lingering in Korea since being released in November of 2022 by Washington. To date, Fedde is 5-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 16 starts, good for a +2.9 WAA.
Among the White Sox, only Garrett Crochet approaches Fedde for value. And if the experts know anything, Crochet won’t be in Chicago much longer. Of course, the same may be true of Fedde.
Aside from Fedde, Getz’s winter has not gone well. Of those 40 personnel decisions, only 10 are so far working out in Chicago’s favor; 28 have been negative and two neutral. Getz, of course, doesn’t care about the short term; he’s playing the long game.
That’s why he signed catcher Martin Maldonado, known as a great handler of pitchers but an awful hitter. A career .203 hitter, Maldonado is batting .088 for the Southsiders and producing a -2.3 WAA. If he schools Chicago’s young pitchers, Getz doesn’t care about Maldonado’s lack of offense.
Score: -6.0. Grade: F.
These are the five statistically most impactful moves made by AL Central teams in 2024. Values are based on Wins Above Average impact on the AL Central team.
1. Kansas City Royals sign free agent pitcher Jose Lugo, +3.0
2. Chicago White Sox sign free agent pitcher Erick Fedde, +2.9
3. White Sox sign free agent catcher Martin Maldonado, -2.3
4. Cleveland Guardians trade pitcher Cal Quantrill to Colorado, -2.3
5. Cleveland Guardians lose pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, -2.3
Grading NL Central front offices at midway point of 2024 MLB season (calltothepen.com)