ORLANDO, Fla. — There have been few times when Chris Getz has been able to crack a smile since becoming the White Sox’ general manager. Losing has defined his tenure.
Tuesday, however, was one of those instances after the Sox won the MLB Draft Lottery. They’ll pick No. 1 for the first time since 1977.
It continues a run of Chicago teams claiming the first pick in their drafts. The Blackhawks won the NHL lottery in 2023 and drafted Connor Bedard, who has become a franchise centerpiece. The Bears had the first pick in the NFL in 2024 and took Caleb Williams, who has helped put them in the playoff race.
‘‘It’s a significant event for us,’’ Getz said. ‘‘It can’t be understated how important it is. We’ve been hard at work bringing talent into the organization in different ways, and the amateur draft is an obvious avenue.’’
The last time the Sox picked first, they chose Hall of Fame outfielder Harold Baines. They also took first baseman Danny Goodwin from Peoria (Ill.) High School with the first pick in 1971.
Knowing their chances of selecting high in the draft were good — they had the best chance for the No. 1 pick at 27.7% — the Sox started their due diligence on some of the top prospects before MLB’s ‘‘dead period’’ from Oct. 15 to Jan. 15.
UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is the prize of the draft, which is scheduled July 11-12 during All-Star Week in Philadelphia, after batting .353/.480/.710 last season. His combination of power and contact hitting makes him an early candidate to be the No. 1 pick.
Though Cholowsky is the top contender, the Sox are going to be open-minded throughout the process. High school shortstops Grady Emerson and Jacob Lombard, Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress round out the top five prospects, according to MLB.com.
‘‘We spent a lot of time on [Cholowsky] in high school,’’ Sox scouting director Mike Shirley said. ‘‘[We] felt like he was worthy of being a high-end pick. We know the kid, know the family. Some of that work is done.
“But, like I said, there’s multiple players across this great country that are going to answer that bell and try to get their place in line along with Roch.’’
The Sox weren’t eligible for the lottery in 2025, despite a modern-day record of 121 losses in 2024, because they had a lottery pick in 2024 and are a ‘‘payor’’ club — a team that gives rather than receives revenue-sharing money. Those teams aren’t allowed a lottery pick in back-to-back years.
As free agency picked up with the Phillies’ re-signing of former Cub Kyle Schwarber and the Dodgers’ signing of All-Star closer Edwin Diaz, the Sox remained silent. Getz said the team isn’t thinking about ‘‘repurposing’’ its young talent in a trade.
‘‘It’s our job to support these guys, but we’re more focused on their continual development more than anything, rather than trying to plug holes with some of our players who can be here for a long time,’’ he said.
But for one day, Getz and his staff could celebrate in the glow of having won the lottery.
‘‘We were penalized a couple of years ago, so I do feel like this is our time,’’ Shirley said. ‘‘There are a lot of people starting to feel like, ‘Hey, this is going in the right direction. Let’s make this our time.’ And we’ve got a lot of work to do.’’
