ARLINGTON, Texas — General manager Chris Getz believes the Chicago White Sox are very organized as Tuesday’s trade deadline approaches.
“There’s a lot of interest in players on our major-league club,” Getz said Wednesday evening at Globe Life Field, where the Sox were playing the Texas Rangers. “And we’re prepared to go in a lot of different directions.
“We’re at the mercy of other clubs and what their needs are and their appetite to do a deal. But I feel like we’re well-positioned to make good decisions and we’re very open-minded as well, knowing what our needs are to become a better organization.”
Several Sox players have been mentioned in trade speculation. How it all unfolds remains to be seen.
“We have players who have control and we have players who are due to be free agents at the end of the year,” Getz said. “Some are more likely than others, but we’re open-minded and some of these players are at the top of the list for other clubs. There’s a lot of work that goes into getting a deal done.
“There have been lots of conversations, a lot of back and forth with myself, general managers and others in the organization. We’re ready to go.”
Getz acknowledged it’s an anxious time for players.
“They have families,” he said. “They’re preparing for major-league games — you want to minimize the distractions as much as you can — but they’re humans. You want to be sensitive and mindful to how it can affect them. Try to handle it as professionally as possible.
“They know our current situation, where we are in the standings and our record. They understand we have a ways to go to get us in a place to where we’re competing on a regular basis. The next several days are going to be very interesting.”
Much of the trade speculation has centered around starting pitchers Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde and outfielders Luis Robert Jr. and Tommy Pham.
Getz preferred not to get into specific names but said: “We’ve been very open to talking to players directly or even publicly. We have to be open-minded. If there’s a real opportunity to set us up better for the future, we have to consider that.
“There’s no one who’s a definite move. There’s different ways to execute trades in terms of timing. You have this deadline, you have offseason, future deadlines, so it’s really assessing what our needs are and what is the best deal we can get for the Chicago White Sox.”
Coming off the draft, Getz has noticed an uptick in the trade market.
“I feel like the market has come alive in the last couple days where the conversations have been a little more meaningful than in the last couple weeks,” he said. “It’s tough to say when some of these trades will be executed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you start seeing some (Thursday). But I know most of these deals will probably get done close to the deadline.”
The Sox are in position to sell as the losses pile up. They dropped their 11th straight Thursday, falling 2-1 to the Rangers. Starter Jonathan Cannon pitched well in the defeat, allowing two runs on eight hits with one strikeout and two walks in six innings.
The Sox struck out 12 times Thursday and 49 times in the four-game series. At 27-78, they are a season-worst 51 games under .500. It’s the first time the Sox have reached that mark since they were 50-101 on Oct. 2, 1948.
“It’s pretty grueling with how some of these games have ended,” Getz said. “There have been positive takeaways with some performances, mainly on the starting pitching front. And the pitching front in general. There have also been some success stories on the position-player front. Yes, overall very frustrating, but I have to take a step back.
“We had to focus on the draft, we have to focus on this deadline. You have coaching staff and players that are prepared on a daily basis to go out and win ballgames. It’s not an easy task for anyone, but for me in the position I’m in, I have to take a step back with a clear mind to execute moves to help us moving forward.”
With Thursday’s defeat, the Sox suffered a series sweep for the 15th time this season. They went 0-7 on the trip to Kansas City, Mo., and Arlington, Texas. They led at some point in three of the four games at Globe Life Field.
“There is a roller coaster of emotions attached to some of these games, whether going up early and then finding ways to lose,” Getz said. “That’s probably at the top of the frustrations. That said, there’s what Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde, Drew Thorpe, Jonathan Cannon have done this year. And certainly some others who’ve performed really well and shown what they’re capable of doing in this league.
“It keeps us highly motivated to solve this puzzle of putting the White Sox where they need to be.”