The Chicago White Sox announced on Thursday that manager Pedro Grifol had been fired. Grifol’s tenure with Chicago lasted a little over a season and a half, and he departs just days after the White Sox snapped their 21-game losing streak. (You can click here to see some potential candidates the White Sox might consider as his successor.) The White Sox have since installed Grady Sizemore as their interim manager, ostensibly to give him a chance to audition over the rest of the season for the permanent gig.
The timing of the White Sox’s managerial change is notable in another way, since it falls just short of the one-year mark (Aug. 31) since Chris Getz was installed as Chicago’s general manager.
Getz, 40, was promoted in place of Rick Hahn after having previously served as an assistant general manager and director of player development. It was during his time in the latter role that the White Sox boasted a loaded farm system, complete with the likes of Luis Robert Jr., Yoán Moncada, and Lucas Giolito, among others. How much credit Getz deserved for that group remains a matter of debate.
That the White Sox elevated Getz to general manager without conducting a single interview with an external candidate, however, was panned across the industry — not because of Getz himself (though again, his exact merits have been questioned) but because it represented … well, as lazy of a process as possible.
“The fanbase should be up in arms,” one veteran talent evaluator with a rival team told CBS Sports at the time. “They have zero chance to be successful with these changes.”
Nearly a year later, the White Sox have thus far validated that executive’s assessment. Chicago enter Thursday on pace to lose 123 games — or, the most losses of any Major League Baseball team since 1900. Between that, the Grifol firing, and Getz’s encroaching anniversary, we figured this would be an appropriate time to review three of the other most notable decisions he’s made in his first year at the helm.
1. Holding onto Crochet, Robert Jr.
Arguably Getz’s biggest decisions are non-moves. To wit, holding onto both breakout lefty Garrett Crochet and outfielder Luis Robert Jr. at the deadline. You can argue both decisions were partially made for Getz.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported late in the deadline cycle about Crochet’s demands for the remainder of the season, including not pitching out of the bullpen and not pitching in the postseason without first signing a contract extension as a manner of protecting his own health. Getz claims he was not aware of Crochet’s demands before they were publicized.
“The communication had been very strong between Garrett and I and his agency. I was a little surprised and taken aback by how they went about it, considering I had a conversation with his agent the night before,” Getz told reporters ahead of the deadline. “That’s not exactly the tactic I would have taken, being a former player.”
As for Robert, he has performed below his usual marks this year while also striking out far more often than normal. Add in the standard concerns about his durability, and it feels fair to write that the White Sox may have been selling low if they had moved him in July.
Presuming Getz moves Crochet and Robert this offseason, it’ll be up to him to make up for lost time and leverage by netting good returns.
2. Signing Fedde
One of the best moves Getz made during his first offseason was inking right-hander Erick Fedde to a two-year pact worth $15 million. Fedde, 31, had pitched the previous year in South Korea after struggling to establish himself in the majors. That year proved to be well spent, as Fedde returned a different, improved pitcher. In 21 starts with the White Sox, he amassed a 3.11 ERA and a 3.18 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Teams as bad as this White Sox group generally don’t need to hold onto aging mid-rotation starters heading into the final year of their contracts. Getz, naturally, decided to shop around Fedde at the deadline with an eye on making a deal.
In the process, Getz turned a clear win into something less.
3. Trading Fedde
For as well as the initial Fedde signing worked out, the trade left something to be desired. In case the week-plus since the deadline has fogged your memory, the White Sox dealt Fedde as part of a three-team trade that involved the Dodgers and Cardinals and that netted them outfielder Miguel Vargas, infielders Jeral Perez and Alexander Albertus, and a player to be named later from the Dodgers.
That package felt light to us, and to several talent evaluators we spoke to after it was announced. Here’s what we wrote about that return at the time:
Ultimately, how you feel about this return for the White Sox will come down to your confidence in Vargas making a leap and your expectations for what Fedde was bringing back. Perhaps we were too bullish on the latter, but we had our reasons — including this being a seller’s market and Fedde being both productive and cheap. For whatever it’s worth, three evaluators with rival teams we spoke to agreed that this package felt light. Maybe the White Sox see something — in Vargas, but also Albertus and Perez — that will allow them to get the last laugh.
It’s fitting, in a sense, that this trade serves as a microcosm of Getz’s promotion: the future could prove it to be a good move. For now, though, it’s fair to have doubts.