With prior reports that Chris Getz was aiming to target upper minors/young and controllable hitting, the selection of Hagen Smith in the draft made a lot of sense, as Smith would step into Garrett Crochet’s spot in the rotation in a year or so, while Crochet would be flipped for elite hitting prospects, which the White Sox desperately need.
However, as the deadline has come and gone, that was clearly not the case, as Getz only acquired one major league ready bat, that being Miguel Vargas. Vargas was the only one that would fit the description of a young/controllable hitter ready to help the team sooner rather than later. Every other hitter the White Sox acquired was in the lower levels of the minors and just 19 years old.
While Getz could have tried and failed to acquire hitters such as Vargas, it now has a big impact on the future of the White Sox. If the White Sox had acquired players that were ready to play in the MLB this year or early next year, they could have been much more competitive, but at the least, much more fun to watch.
Now with three out of the four hitters acquired in the lower minors, we can’t count on any contributions from them for at least two or three years. While taking chances on the younger players may have been the best upside for the White Sox at the deadline, it will take a while to see if any of these players pan out. Now, the White Sox will have to rely on the current batch of upper minor position players, many of whom have underperformed significantly this season.
Barring any trades, the White Sox could open up the 2025 season with an infield that consists of Bryan Ramos, Colson Montgomery, Brooks Baldwin, and Andrew Vaughn. Lenyn Sosa would rotate in and Miguel Vargas could see some time in the infield. This is a solid start to change the lineup for the White Sox, but there is no way to tell how the rookies will play. The potential is there, but there have been some concerns with their development as of late.
Despite the uncertainty, if that was the starting infield next May, that would be a solid start. However, the White Sox have not addressed the outfield, as they did not add any outfield pieces at the deadline. They did draft a few college outfielders, but they will take a few more years. If the White Sox made some more Vargas type moves, specifically in the outfield, the White Sox could have been competitive sooner rather than later.
Unless everything goes right and the White Sox get a haul of hitters for Crochet, the White Sox timeline might have been pushed back to 2029 to wait for these younger minor leaguers to develop. If the White Sox were able to acquire hitting that is ready now, it could have pushed the timeline up to 2027, as it would give the young players 2-3 years to develop before being pushed to compete, similar to the last rebuild.
Chris Getz can still make some significant moves in the offseason that could push up the timeline, but as things stand right now, it is going to be a long rebuild, the opposite of what White Sox fans were promised.
