White Sox embracing continued development in 2025

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It¡¯s impossible for White Sox general manager Chris Getz to forecast an exact win total for his 2025 team.

That task would be pretty tough to do even for a group such as the Dodgers, who feature Major League Baseball¡¯s top roster on paper and in person. The White Sox are not the Dodgers, not as they move full force into Year 2 of this rebuild.

But with Wednesday featuring the South Siders¡¯ first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers at their Camelback Ranch complex, Getz sees improvement coming off a record-worst performance in 2024.

¡°I do think we¡¯re going to win more games than we did last year,¡± said Getz, as he addressed the media in Glendale, Ariz., on Tuesday. ¡°Unfortunately, there are going to be some growing pains along the way that at times will challenge your emotions, but that¡¯s part of the development of some of these players.

¡°We need to be patient. And it¡¯s hard to do in professional sports because we¡¯ve got so many competitors out there on the field on a daily basis. But I do think there are going to be plenty of exciting stories, and a lot of that has to do with the talent that¡¯s working its way to the Major Leagues this season.¡±

Development remains crucial for the 2025 White Sox, even in the face of their 121 losses in ¡®24 that set a Modern Era record (since 1901) for single-season futility. Colson Montgomery, the No. 39 prospect overall, according to MLB Pipeline, could be ready to open the season as the White Sox shortstop, but Chicago won¡¯t rush the 22-year-old if he¡¯s not quite there coming out of Spring Training, as an example.

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Even with the fans understandably clamoring for much more than the 222 losses combined over the past two seasons, Getz and company have to trust the process. They¡¯ve improved the infrastructure. They have added to and restructured their research and development group.

They changed their look on the international acquisition front. They enter big league camp with a strong representation from a Minor League system with six players on MLB Pipeline¡¯s latest Top 100 Prospects list.

¡°Every year, you learn something new,¡± Getz said. ¡°And I think going through a year like we did in 2024, most importantly it just provided a lot of clarity for a lot of people including myself. We had a lot of work to do, a lot more changes that needed to be made, and we were able to accomplish a lot of that this offseason.

¡°That started with hiring [manager] Will Venable. We feel fortunate to have him as a leader in our clubhouse and be able to surround him with what we feel like is the right support to ultimately go out there and get our players better.¡±

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Venable, in a big picture way, is akin to the Bears¡¯ hiring of Ben Johnson as their new head coach. He was their No. 1 target entering the offseason process, but the White Sox had to show him what the organization was about at this point as much as Venable had to prove his mettle to them.

This first Spring Training at the helm for Venable features roster competition across the board, working around locks such as Luis Robert Jr. in center field, Andrew Benintendi in left, Andrew Vaughn at first base and Jonathan Cannon on the mound, to name a few. That competitive spirit, along with the fight to distance themselves from those 121 losses, should make for different looking Cactus League workouts if not wholehearted improvement.

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Losing as they did in ¡®24 was painful for everyone, from Getz right on down to every player who suited up for the White Sox. It also was informative, leading them to build for better days ahead beginning on Wednesday.

¡°So, to be able to overcome what we did last year in these coming years is a great opportunity for so many different people and myself included,¡± Getz said. ¡°Having lengthy conversations with Will and the staff, they've got plans to put our players in higher-stake situations in our work so when you're faced with game action, whether it be Spring Training or in the season, you're ready to go.

¡°You've got to go out there and execute. You've got to put these players in a position to go out there and perform with what the game gives you. And I think that's going to be one of the bigger things this Spring Training, so when it comes to Opening Day, we're ready to really act on every situation.¡±