White Sox Restock Front Office With Experienced Hires From Outside

Jerry Reinsdorf was criticized for making an internal promotion after firing his long-time front office leaders. But it didn’t take new general manager Chris Getz long to depart from business as usual for the White Sox.

The former White Sox infielder and farm director is importing three experienced top-tier staffers to lead a front office that often seemed to resist outside ideas during the long tenures of Ken Williams and Rick Hahn.

Williams famously once told the Chicago media not to meddle in “White Sox business,” and Hahn seemed to develop the same level of defensiveness after being promoted to the GM’s job a decade ago. Both relied largely on the same organizational chain of command during their tenures, with the 2011 hiring of top international scout Marco Paddy the last high level addition to the farm office.

Getz hired assistant general manager Josh Barfield (Arizona), senior advisor-pitching Brian Bannister (San Francisco) and director of player development Gene Watson (Kansas City) from organizations known for finding and developing talent. They should bring new ideas to an organization that has seemed behind the curve on analytics and innovative performance-development methods.

All three know their way around both major league clubhouses and offices.

Barfield, the son of former Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jesse Barfield, was a top prospect who spent four years as an infielder with San Diego and Cleveland. Bannister, the son of former White Sox left-hander Floyd Bannister, was a major-league starting pitcher for the Mets and Royals.

Watson played college baseball at the University of Texas-Arlington and has served as a senior advisor to the GM with the Royals and Angels. His 25-plus years as a scout and executive give the trio almost 50 years’ experience.

“Josh is a real rising front office star, Brian is recognized as one of the top pitching minds in the game and Gene is acknowledged as one of the best talent evaluators in baseball,” Getz said when the Sox announced the hires. “I am excited for them to get started working together as we define our vision for the future and create a path to success for the White Sox organization.”

Getz takes over at a time when the White Sox are positioned for a long-term rebuild — they should pick fourth in the 2024 draft — and have a handful of players to shop for trades, including center fielder Luis Robert and ace Dylan Cease.

The first major decision lies with the status of first-year manager Pedro Grifol, who flopped with a team that had been expected to contend. Getz and his new assistants must also decide if they want to retain shortstop Tim Anderson.

The Sox hold a $14 million option for ’24 with a $1 million buyout. Anderson lost his mojo as one of baseball’s best hit-for-average producer and delivered the worst defensive metrics among regular shortstops (-16 Defensive Runs Saved, per Fangraphs). The White Sox are sending shortstop Colson Montgomery, their top prospect, to the Arizona Fall League but he’s played only 51 games above Class A.

Reinsdorf believes the Sox can bounce back quickly from their dive toward 100 losses. But the team’s new decision-makers aren’t bound to the past, so don’t be surprised if the team looks beyond 2024 while trying to build a roster that can win consistently.