Chris Getz saw the Chicago White Sox establish an identity throughout the 2026 season.
“It’s this selfless approach, it’s playing for one another, playing for the Chicago White Sox organization,” the general manager said during a videoconference call on Wednesday. “And the power of establishing an identity is that it can replicate throughout an organization, whether it be our minor-league players observing this, certainly our coaches, could be our evaluators when it comes to acquisitions.
“That clarity allows us to not only go out there and identify players we feel like can be a fit and be part of what we have going on here, but players within the organization that want to conduct their business a certain way, play a certain style, a winning style, for one another.”
Getz reflected on the regular-season success and postseason run, and previewed some offseason plans on Wednesday.
He noted the guidance of manager Will Venable and the coaching staff, along with the progress and production from the players throughout the year.
After three straight 100-plus-loss seasons, the team’s turnaround included qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and winning a postseason series for the first time since the 2005 World Series. The year came to an end with a Game 5 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series. The Sox had a two-game lead in the best-of-five series before losing the final three.
“As a whole, certainly stings to be eliminated from the playoffs the way that we did,” Getz said. “But zooming out further, I think it’s important to recognize how proud I am of our player group as an organization and how excited I am for the future based on what we were able to establish this season.”
Getz saw plenty of lessons along the postseason journey.
“First of all, fortunate to get the opportunity for these players,” Getz said. “To go into Houston and do what they did there and win a series, something the organization hadn’t done in a long time. Then go to Cleveland and play against a division rival. Cleveland and the White Sox were neck and neck all season, down to the last series of the season. To come up short stings and is painful.
“More than anything, I think about the emotions of playing in those critical moments and I think some of our players, they responded really well and there were times where they got sped up a little bit. And so, to really learn from having to regulate those emotions on that stage, I think, is only going to serve them well. But we don’t get this opportunity to make those adjustments without experiencing it. Very grateful we got those opportunities and I can’t think of anything better to experience for future development.”
Strikeouts piled up throughout the ALDS, including 19 in Game 3 and 21 in Game 5.
“What can’t get lost is what got us to the playoffs, and you look at the amount of runs that we scored throughout the season, leading the American League, I think a significant reason for the output that we had was the slug,” Getz said. “And oftentimes what could come with hitting with power are strikeouts. It was exposed at times and exposed certainly in the last two games of the playoffs.
“So you don’t want to overcorrect, because you’ve got to realize what the strengths are of some of these players, and you want to continue to amplify those strengths.”
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Conversations with current and former general managers have been helpful.
“They warned me, because they’ve gone through it themselves, of reacting too much to a playoff game or a segment of games,” he said. “I thought that was pretty sound advice. Now that doesn’t mean that it can be dismissed, the amount of strikeouts. I think more than anything, I just look at, it’s a very young roster that was going through the major leagues for the first time, their first season, and then playing high-level baseball and credit to Cleveland — they do have an elite pitching staff. We faced some elite pitchers.
“Now that doesn’t mean that we don’t have the skill set to do better than what we had done. So yeah, there are going to be some adjustments, but I also don’t want to overcorrect based on essentially one series.”
Turning to the offseason, Getz anticipates the coaching staff returning. And as far as offseason priorities, pitching and outfield depth are on the list.
“We still very much want to assess what has transpired this season from a production standpoint, what are some areas that can improve individually,” Getz said. “Want to look at what we have in-house before we go out there and start targeting individuals that can help this club.
“Look forward to that process. We’re jumping into it right now and it’s going to be a fun offseason for us.”