Chicago White Sox Announce Chris Getz as Next General Manager, Senior Vice President

The Chicago White Sox and owner Jerry Reinsdorf are once again retooling their front office from within, hiring Chris Getz as GM on Thursday.

The Chicago White Sox have named Chris Getz as their next senior vice president and general manager, the team announced Thursday morning.

Reports first started to surface about the White Sox choosing Getz earlier in the week, and the rumors have officially come true. Getz, who initially joined the club's front office as director of player development at the end of the 2016 season, had been assistant general manager since 2021.

Getz oversaw the day-to-day operations of Chicago's minor league system, as well as the team’s academy in the Dominican Republic, plus some player evaluation and contract negotiations.

“Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience within our organization to this role,” White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “Most importantly, he knows our players, both at the major league level and in our system, knows our staff and is familiar with all aspects of our baseball operations department."

Chicago fired its previous SVP and GM, Rick Hahn, back on Aug. 22, also cutting ties with Executive Vice President Kenny Williams that same day.

OFFICIAL: Chris Getz has been named senior vice president/general manager of the Chicago White Sox. pic.twitter.com/MPjlDuI7p6

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 31, 2023

This is far from the first time the White Sox and Reinsdorf have promoted from within to rebuild the front office. As chronicled by The Daily Herald, Williams and Hahn had both held long-standing positions with the franchise before taking over the as GM themselves.

The White Sox are familiar with Getz beyond his time in the front office, drafting him out of high school and college. Getz played in the All-Star Futures Game in 2008 and became an MLB regular in 2009, but was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2009.

Across seven seasons with the White Sox, Royals and Toronto Blue Jays, the second baseman batted .250 with 352 hits, three home runs, 111 RBI, 89 stolen bases, a .616 OPS and a 1.4 WAR. Getz's career earnings exceeded $3 million.

“I am honored and humbled to be given this leadership responsibility,” Getz said in a press release. “I understand what this team means to White Sox fans, and I am excited to begin the work today and during the remainder of this season. There is a great deal of talent within this clubhouse and within this ballpark, and we are going to diligently begin to do the work and lay the foundation for an organization and a team we all take pride in, from the staff, to the players, to our fans.”

Rumors have also been swirling that Chicago aims to bring in Texas Rangers senior adviser and former Royals GM Dayton Moore as Getz's assistant.

The White Sox made the postseason in 2020 and 2021, but went .500 in 2022 and fell off a cliff in 2023. At 53-81, Chicago has been virtually eliminated from playoff contention all summer long, which led to Reinsdorf axing the previous regime.

Getz came up under Hahn and Williams, though, meaning that regime still lives on as the White Sox try to rebuild for the future yet again.

Since winning the World Series in 2005, the White Sox have the ninth-worst record in baseball. Just going back to 2013, the White Sox have the fifth-fewest wins in the league.

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