ORLANDO, Fla. — White Sox general manager Chris Getz and his staff spent most of the first day Monday at the winter meetings brainstorming ideas and conversing with agents, executives and players.
For Getz, this offseason will be about the continued development of the Sox’ young players. He’s not in a rush to expedite the team’s rebuild with a splashy free-agent signing. The Sox aren’t yet at the stage where they would consider adding expensive players.
‘‘To take a significant jump [in 2025] was very positive,’’ said Getz, who indicated he anticipated the Sox to ‘‘take another jump this upcoming season.’’
It didn’t take much for the 2025 Sox to be better than their 2024 club, which set the major-league record for most losses in a season (121) in the modern era, but there were positive signs in the development of shortstop Colson Montgomery, catcher Kyle Teel and second baseman Chase Meidroth.
For the Sox to take another step forward, however, the young players need credible major-league talent around them.
‘‘We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, and we’re going to continue to make good decisions and help our players get even better,’’ Getz said. ‘‘To take the large step forward, a lot of it is going to be the continued development of these young players.
‘‘And then you’ve got [outfielder] Braden Montgomery, [left-hander] Noah Schultz, [left-hander] Hagen Smith and [infielder] Sam Antonacci, guys that are getting closer to the big leagues and [are] going to be productive on the major-league club with the current players that we have. I think that’s going to show up in the win total.’’
It’s difficult, however, for a team to win solely on the strength of its farm system. Outside reinforcements have to be added for a team to reach its potential. That’s not to say the Sox have to swim in the deep end of the free-agent pool — the Tigers’ signing of Javier Baez in 2021 is the clearest example of an organization moving too fast — but there are solid major-league players available who could help them next season.
The American League Central was the weakest division in the majors last season, and that probably won’t change in 2026. The Guardians aren’t likely to add to their team, the Tigers might deal their best player in left-hander Tarik Skubal and the Royals don’t have overwhelming talent. Still, Getz is going to take a measured approach this offseason, likely filling out the Sox’ bullpen and rotation and continuing to focus on the position players already in place.
Getz said he has been pleased with how the infrastructure of the organization has come together, from international scouting to the amateur side to the research-and-development team. He pointed to Colson Montgomery’s development and to the Sox identifying and selecting right-hander Shane Smith in the Rule 5 Draft last year as examples of that paying dividends at the major-league level.
‘‘Overall, if you look at the foundation of where things are, there’s usually a lag at the major-league level,’’ Getz said. ‘‘Thankfully, we were able to see some production out of a young group of players on our major-league club.
‘‘We’re focused on supplementing the team, adding to this group to complement the players that we have here. . . . [A] higher level of competition is only going to help their development [and] to grow more confidence in the game. That’s only going to better some of these young players in the end.’’
