CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz knows his team is staring down a record number of losses this season, but he’s urging his players to “make the best of it” as they draw closer to 120 or more defeats, the modern record for losses in a single season.
“I think if you would have told me we were going to end up flirting with the record I would have been a little surprised,” Getz said on Monday afternoon. “Now if you would have told me prior to the year that we would have ended up with over 100 losses, 105, 110, I wouldn’t have been as surprised. But this is the cards that we’ve been dealt at this point. You try to make the best of it, and I think it’s an opportunity to embrace the situation that we’re in.”
The White Sox are 33-111 with 18 games remaining on the schedule, including Monday night’s contest against the Cleveland Guardians. Their .229 winning percentage has them on pace for 125 losses. The 1962 Mets, the modern record holders for most losses in a season, were 40-120. The question of whether the White Sox will surpass that mark has morphed from an “if” to a “when.”
Getz is hoping the tough times will give way to better days in the future.
“As someone that grew up in Detroit, we saw the Tigers in 2003 with 43 wins and three years later, we’re in the World Series,” he stated. “I view it as kind of the frustrating part of the story, but I also know that the future’s looking bright and it’s going to make it just that much sweeter once we get there.”
Much of the White Sox’s season has been by design, beginning with trading their best pitcher, Dylan Cease, to the San Diego Padres on the eve of the season. In doing so, they turned over their entire starting rotation and nearly their entire pitching staff from a season ago. In July, they moved capable starter Erick Fedde to the St. Louis Cardinals, and closer Michael Kopech was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their other top arm, Garrett Crochet, essentially took himself off the trade market due to usage demands and has been on a pitch count throughout the second half.
Chicago is 6-40 since the All-Star break. Early in the year, the White Sox also dealt with a spate of injuries to their position players, most notably infielder Yoan Moncada, who hasn’t played since April 9. Luis Robert Jr. and former outfielder Eloy Jimenez also spent time on the injured list — just as they have over the past three seasons.
Getz was asked for both a favorite memory of the year so far and what he might remember most as a negative moment.
“I’d say my favorite memory is making the decision to have Garrett Crochet be a starter this year, and then naming him the Opening Day starter,” Getz said. “He showed the organization and certainly baseball what he’s capable of doing. That’s certainly the brightest memory.
“In terms of the memories that perhaps I want to forget, I can’t say that there’s one that really stands out. I think that there’s a lot to learn from for our players and our staff and personally, and all you can really do right now is apply those learnings to the future.”
One of the early offseason tasks for Getz will be to hire a new manager after the team dismissed Pedro Grifol last month, not long after it broke a 21-game losing streak. The front office is still in the information-gathering stage of the process, but Getz reiterated that the White Sox will hire a permanent manager from a pool of candidates who are in uniform but outside the organization.
“You have people inside and outside the organization that can be of help whether it’s through the referral process or gathering more background information,” Getz explained. “I’d say it’s fairly broad with the involvement.
“It’s going to be my decision, the baseball ops decision and we’re excited about the next Chicago White Sox manager.”