SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Rock bottom proved to be even rockier than the Chicago White Sox ever dreamed.
Now second-year general manager Chris Getz has the unenviable task of pulling the South Side out of the baseball abyss following a 121-loss season that was the worst in modern MLB history.
Recent history shows that the massive rebuild won't be easy, but it can be done.
Fairly quickly, in fact.
“One of the things I learned is that we weren’t as far off as it felt at times,” said Texas Rangers GM Chris Young, whose team won the World Series in 2023 after losing 102 games two seasons prior.
“We had the 102-loss season, followed by a 94-loss season, but there were some things just beneath the surface that indicated it could turn quickly," Young said. “And it did.”
The Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks are among the franchises that the White Sox can use as examples for how to improve in a hurry. The Orioles and D-backs both lost 110 games in 2021.
Fast forward to 2023 and the Orioles won 101 regular season games while the Diamondbacks and Rangers both made a surprise run to the World Series, which Texas won in five games. All three teams are still in good long-term shape.
Even more recently, the Royals made the playoffs this season after losing 106 games in 2023.
“You look at different blueprints for teams that have gone through similar situations, and how they've gone about it,” Getz said on Tuesday at Major League Baseball's GM meetings. "These things can change quickly.”
Texas probably had the easiest solution to bouncing back from triple-digit losses — spending lots of cash. The Rangers hit the free agent market hard after their dismal 2021, committing $500 million to land All-Star infielders Marcus Semien and Corey Seager.
Arizona made its move up the standings with a combination of shrewd trades, out-of-the-box signings and quality draft picks. The D-backs have long occupied a sort of middle ground in baseball's marketplace where they are able to pursue free agents, but can't get reckless.
General manager Mike Hazen picked up ace Zac Gallen in a 2019 trade with the Miami Marlins. He signed right-hander Merrill Kelly after he had a few good seasons pitching in South Korea. And then the farm system developed several quality players, including 2023 NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, All-Star shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and starting pitchers Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson.
It's not that every move worked out — the D-backs blew $85 million on a five-year contract for left-hander Madison Bumgarner — but there were more hits than misses.
The Orioles' rebuild was more like the D-backs. General manager Mike Elias built around young players like 2023 AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson, catcher Adley Rutschman and slugger Anthony Santander, supplementing with a few free agents.
Now Baltimore looks like it'll be a factor in the American League for the next decade. But Elias admits the rebuild was tough.
“Even if you know it's moving the right direction long term, it's really hard on the players and coaching staff in the dugout those first few years when the immediate returns aren't there,” Elias said. “When you're spending all day preparing for a game, and way more often than not you're losing that game, you feel like a failure, even if things are moving in the right direction.”
The White Sox could be following a similar path. They've already made a change in the dugout, hiring 42-year-old Will Venable to replace Pedro Grifol, who was fired in August. Grady Sizemore served as interim manager.
Chicago's obviously a little talent-starved on its big-league roster, but the minor league system is in much better shape. The team has several highly regarded prospects, including left-handed pitchers Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, along with shortstop Colson Montgomery.
The franchise's Double-A team in Birmingham won its first Southern League championship since 2013. The hope is some of those players will percolate into the big leagues soon.
Chicago also has a couple valuable big-league assets that could be moved in trades, including outfielder Luis Robert Jr. and right-hander Garrett Crochet, though Getz said he's comfortable with keeping them if no deals materialize.
Even if things look bad right now, the White Sox are bullish about the next few years.
Judging from baseball's recent past, that's a realistic feeling.
“It's about rounding out our roster, balancing it with offensive players to add to our pitching, and you go from there,” Getz said. "You put together the best roster you can, compete on a regular basis, and before you know it, you've won eight out of 10 or 18 out of 20.
“It happens organically. But it starts with accumulating talent in your organization.”
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AP Baseball Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.
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