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The foundational changes he has made should not be understated. He basically wiped out the previous group of international scouts and has built a brand new team under David Keller. He has modernized what was a terribly broken Analytics department and has integrated it throughout all major functional areas of the org. He has built a new, beefed up Acquistions group under Matt Grabowski to bring a more data-centric element to player evaluation alongside traditional pro scouting under Gene Watson in new position in that area. He’s invested in key technologies like Hawk-Eye and iPitch machines to enhance both our biomechanics and player development functions. He’s added designated leaders to oversee pitching and hitting across the org. He’s greatly expanded the size of the front office by hiring three Assistant GMs with specific responsibilities and has added other new roles including a Director of Major League Strategy and Director of Leadship, Culture, & Education. I’m sure there are many other changes & hires I’m not outlining above, but his efforts have been substantial and should warrant some praise from fans.

Its funny how news of a hire with universal approval still results in the usual suspects trying to shoehorn in criticisms of Getz for 6 pages.

I lean more pessimistic myself and even I’ve gotten tired of it.

If you can’t see the positives around what Getz’ vision seems to be and the people around the league buying into it, then you are just continuing the narrative you want to have. He is selling himself to some pretty damn bright baseball minds.

They misspelled "tear", because you cry if you sign them.

I would pay good money to read a Rick Hahn book with detailed accounts of what went on behind the scenes with Kenny and Jerry.

That pic fits extra well in the thread considering that's Jared from Subway and Wander Franco came up.

What does any of this have to do with free agency? Lol.

Getz already said that’s not the case. And shouldn’t be.

Conforto? Jeeze, that's landfill diving not even dumpster diving. You kick the tires too much around him, they're bound to explode.

He did not.

What’s funny is we now know with certainty that KW & Hahn hadn’t invested in the technology & analytics to have a successful player development function, yet many here seem to feel that’s all somehow Getz’s fault. We know the results from that function sucked during his tenure as its head…that is perfectly evident. And during that time I certainly blamed him for the poor results. But when seeing all the major infrastructure changes made since becoming GM, it’s easier to believe he was handcuffed by a pair of leaders above who have proven to be incompetent.

Fegan updated his piece with some clarity on the role Rodriguez is set to have with the Sox.

Ooh. Am I allowed to let my optimism show?

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47325229/mlb-offseason-2025-26-free-agency-rumors-update-passan-tucker-bellinger-bregman-bichette-valdez " There are still starters aplenty available. Chris Bassitt is the best of the bunch for teams seeking innings -- only five pitchers have thrown more over the past four seasons -- and Lucas Giolito has the highest ceiling. Nick Martinez and Zack Littell are steady strike-throwers, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander quadragenarians with enough stuff and know-how to succeed, and Tyler Mahle and German Marquez tantalizing to teams that dream on what they could get out of a full, healthy season. Walker Buehler remains a prime bounce-back candidate, Patrick Corbin a lefty who can pitch forever and Michael Lorenzen an ever-ready swingman. Depending on prices, truly every team could target this tier. Among those who have been most aggressive in mid-tier pursuit, according to sources: the White Sox, Orioles, Angels, Nationals, Mets, Padres and Diamondbacks."

Definitely seems like the international side is his specialty. Wonder if he was drawn more by the AGM title or maybe the opportunity to expand his responsibilities/experience beyond that.

Good call, I meant to post about it in the TV thread, but just a vintage Burns show. 5 stars. Highly recommend.

Sox "aggressive" in mid pursuit

The only interesting thing about this guy is his birthday.

I need like a 4 part episode where it is told from Jerry's View, Kenny's View, Rick's View, and Chris's View.

Im impressed that under further review you can say your initial take on Getz was lacking evidence to draw any meaningful insight. It's also something that most angry fans hardly ever admit that their ignorance in things that go on behind the scenes is not always a simple, defining equation of guilt . Kudos ! In court its called circumstantial evidence.

I've had situations where I had horrible leaders, and I've still succeeded in transformations and leading. All jokes aside, seems like a fine hire. Guy has a good background with nice success. Assistant GM's aren't really moving needles though in the baseball world, so most teams/fans wouldn't really be celebrating news like that. If he was our actual GM, maybe I'd be more excited. Instead, the guy we have is way in over his head as has been apparent for 2+ years now.

I'd love to grab a comp pick. Gimme a comp pick and some middle 10-30 young, far away prospect.

I think they'd love to trade Robert. Had talks with O'Hearn, Conforto, Tauchman, Fairbanks people. I have no idea how much they can spend.

lol they signed him when he was 16, is one supposed to predict that a child may end up being a pedophile years later?

Will be interesting to see how they split areas of responsibility between Rodriguez and Barfield. It seems likely to me that our international operations will go under Rodriguez. Keller has always had a weird title and I feel like that might change now with Rodriguez in place and likely sitting in between him and Getz. Both Rodriguez and Barfield have backgrounds in player development so not sure what happens there. No idea on ops, acquisitions, pro scouting, amateur scouting, strategy, sports performance, etc. R&D / systems infrastructure probably needs it own senior leader that isn’t one of the Assistant GMs given the technical knowledge there. Jin Wong should continue to have his own area of responsibilities focus on budgeting, payroll planning, contract negotiations, etc.

This is a home run fucking hire. I’m actually shocked the Rays did not promote him to GM after Bendix left, but their loss is our gain. And candidly speaking, our front office size was still light compared to others prior to this addition. Glad that Getz didn’t rush to add muscle and instead waited for the right guy to come along.

Getz keeps hiring awesome people somehow.

I read somewhere that with the new hirings starting with Getz, the Sox intend to be a talent and minor league development titan of some note. That was music.

It is, but I do actually believe we could be surprise suitors for Murakami.

It's clearly a bit he's leaning into. C'mon now.

I still love the idea of getting the comp pick from the Pirates in a Robert trade.

The Times of India is a serious news outlet unlike that AI slop Caulfield was posting!

Apparently you too have an eye for developing criminal talent. Case closed.

We hired a guy from a winning organization? An organization who also does not spend (in FA) but puts their spending resources in their farm system and can help prospects develop their ass off? What is this?! Love the hire.

I used to work with a guy named Carlos Rodriquez. We would always greet him by singing Viva Las Vegas but substituting his name for Viva Las Vegas.

You realize as a long term teacher yourself you have certainly taught numerous criminals, including pedophiles. It's the law of large numbers over time.

You’ve never had a job where a moron was in charge and you couldn’t do anything about it?

Not sure I can get too excited when super star Chris Getz was also our assistant GM and even his greatness couldn't overcome a tough situation.

Get has surrounded himself with people who are more qualified than him. That's a good thing, especially if he listens to them, which he seems to be doing. Could bite him in the ass later, though, as there are several folks now who could easily replace him if Ishbia makes a change when he takes over.

I can’t say I know much of anything about this guy, but from the looks of it, it seems like he is more qualified to be the GM than Getz is.

I’m guessing this was all Getz, but Ishbia pushing for more smart baseball minds would be a good thing as well.

I love this hire for the Sox. Some great minds from around the game and outside the org have bought into what Getz is building. I'm curious to know what his role is with the Sox, he has a background in scouting, player development, and the international side of things, departments that are headed by others currently. There's two front office moves that I would like to see the Sox make. I would love for them to hire away someone to be their head of analytics, and I would like to see Getz bring in an experienced GM as an advisor, something I'm still shocked that he hasn't done.

Why don't you look into it and get back to us?

You think Barfield should be canned because of one bad trade that you were a massive fan of when it first went down?

GMs do so much more then sign free agents. And I never expressed any sentiment about free agent spending. I in fact don't think they are going to spend this offseason and I dont necessarily think they should just yet. I just find it crazy that you watch these threads like a hawk to pre-emptively tell everyone why everything sucks and why we shouldn't have hope. Anyways. Cool signing. I'm optimistic.

Get that s%*# out of here and head back to the minor league board where you positive folk belong!!

From Fegan: “For 15 years, Carlos has been an invaluable presence in our organization, leaving a lasting impact across our operations,” read part of Neander's statement. “His professionalism, teamwork and unwavering dedication have made him an exceptional colleague and a cherished friend to me and countless others at the Rays." Rodriguez spent four seasons with the Blue Jays as a scout and initially joined the Rays in that capacity on the international side, eventually moving up to director of their international scouting department, but has since expanded his work into other areas. He served as the team's vice president of international operations and player development from 2019-21, and Rodriguez had held the title of assistant general manager for the last three seasons. On the team website, the Rays have credited Rodriguez for helping develop the organization's nutrition and wellness programs for players, along with generally enhancing a player development system and international scouting reach. His timeline with the Rays generally overlaps with a stretch where their scouts produced a lot of big leaguers from Latin America, their minor league affiliates won a lot of games, and the team's sustained success despite light big league payrolls became the envy of the league. In 2021, The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney reported Rodriguez was a finalist in the Cubs' general manager search that ultimately resulted in the hire of Carter Hawkins https://soxmachine.com/2025/12/white-sox-finalizing-hire-of-former-rays-executive-carlos-rodriguez-to-assistant-general-manager-role