Chris Getz made headlines for the wrong reasons the other day because of his comments regarding his preseason expectations for the ballclub he constructed. Just days later, he has made headlines again. During last night’s game, he spent an inning in the broadcast booth and confirmed that the team would not be “heavy” in free agency this offseason. That is not surprising, but his comments are still disappointing for a fanbase starving for something positive to talk about.
While the upcoming free agent class is not the best we have seen in recent years, some talented players will still be up for grabs. Juan Soto leads the way on the hitting side, with Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman, Willy Adames, Teoscar Hernández, and Pete Alonso also available for teams needing offensive reinforcements. Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell, Jack Flaherty, and Shane Bieber will all be available on the pitching side. But do not expect the White Sox to sign anyone in this group.
The White Sox 2025 payroll situation is minimal. Yoán Moncada has a $25 million team option that the White Sox will undoubtedly decline. Veteran catcher Max Stassi also has a team option for $7.5 million that will be declined, as he has not even appeared in a game all season. The only players currently on the roster who will make substantial money in 2025 are Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr., who will make $17.1 and $15 million, respectively. Everyone else on the team who will be around next season will make the league minimum or close to it. Yet the organization is seemingly not interested in spending money on free agents to improve the team even though they have the payroll flexibility to do so.
During the broadcast yesterday, Getz said, “We’re not gonna be working heavy in free agency. We’ve got guys on the field right now who need to improve their game. A lot of young players who just need to make adjustments to be more productive.” Truthfully, he is not wrong in that regard. The White Sox have a lot of young players who will be part of the equation moving forward that they need to evaluate. However, Getz’s quote is still disappointing. The team desperately needs to infuse some legitimate talent from the outside to help turn this around, but apparently, they have no interest in doing that.
Another factor in this is the team’s situation itself. The White Sox are so awful that no free agent of any significance will sign with them for the foreseeable future unless they are overpaid significantly. The team will likely still sign free agents, but they will be reclamation projects and guys on the last legs of their MLB careers instead of anyone of significance. Last offseason’s haul included a reclamation project in Erick Fedde and many low-ceiling veteran additions like John Brebbia, Paul DeJong, Martín Maldonado, Tim Hill, and Nicky Lopez. Expect more moves like those this winter.
It is hard to imagine the 2025 White Sox being worse than the 2024 White Sox. However, from the looks of it, that might be their goal. They are just days away from officially being the worst modern MLB team ever and have confirmed that they will not be making meaningful additions this winter. It will be a long time before the South Siders are relevant again.
