Chris Getz doesn’t want to lose sight of the value of the White Sox players before the trade deadline

Chris Getz doesn’t want to lose sight of the value of White Sox players before the trade deadline. Originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago.

With nearly a month to go before the MLB transfer deadline, the White Sox are expected to be among the league’s top sellers, according to multiple media reports.

Speaking to the media, White Sox general manager Chris Getz said he is being “inundated” with trade requests, even mentioning that he received a few on Tuesday and expects more to come.

But the White Sox won’t simply sell to revamp their farm system. Getz stressed that the value has to be there for the South Side to consider trading one of their players. And if that’s the case, they’ll consider the trade.

“I know that there are many teams that feel that the offer is such that we can no longer wait and that they do that,” Getz said of accepting a transfer before the deadline.

But more importantly, the White Sox will not send away players like Luis Robert Jr., whose name is being rumored, without a counteroffer.

“The unlikely thing is does an organization have what it takes to acquire some of our talent?” Getz said. “Luis is obviously one of those players that is such an elite talent. Is there a willingness from another organization to offer what we consider to be the ceiling or above to get it in a trade?”

Getz said in December that Robert Jr. was unlikely to be traded. Perhaps that view has changed since then, but the organization’s assessment of his value has not changed.

“We certainly haven’t downgraded any of our players in terms of what we think they can do in the major leagues,” Getz said.

Getz showed the same attitude before the season when he dealt with the trade of Dylan Cease. Despite a disappointing 2023 season, Getz kept Cease on the trade market at a high price.

The price was so high that Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos told fans in a comical interview that Cease’s price was “too expensive.” The Braves, by comparison, have the fifth-highest payroll in the league at just over $232 million.

In the end, Getz was able to steal four top talents from the notoriously aggressive Padres GM AJ Preller.

The White Sox received pitching talents Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, who were No. 5 and No. 8 in the Padres’ system, respectively. They also got 29-year-old reliever Steven Wilson and 19-year-old outfielder Samuel Zavala, the latter of which was No. 7 in San Diego’s system.

Getz says the trade helped him build relationships with various organizations and their respective executives, and he hopes these conversations will help him in that regard with other potential trades this summer.

“Because Dylan was an attractive player to so many different organizations, I think it gave us a head start in terms of getting to know organizations,” Getz said. “Whether that’s Garrett (Crochet) or anyone else, having a player as valuable as Dylan in my first offseason as general manager has allowed me to build relationships with other general managers and get to know other organizations. So I think we’re in a good position.”

Another White Sox starter linked to the Padres is Garrett Crochet, as they have lost key starters Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove to injury. But Getz spoke emphatically about Crochet’s progress as a starting pitcher.

Crochet has emerged as an emerging starter this season. After 15 starts and 82.2 innings, Crochet has a 3.15 ERA with a league-leading 116 strikeouts and 19 walks.

From Getz’s perspective, the White Sox are simply focused on getting him through his first full season as a starter.

“With Garrett, our main focus is to help him get through this season,” Getz said. “He’s just starting his career as a starting pitcher. And he’s proven to baseball and the world that he’s one of the best in the game.”

The White Sox value their players, and Getz won’t stoop to making trades that he feels aren’t a good fit for some of the talent other teams desperately want. That’s the way he’s done business so far.

However, the White Sox are still in active transfer talks, meaning there is a greater chance that some players will be traded before July 30.

“We recognize that there are likely players on our major league club who are currently in control but may not be with us long-term,” Getz said.

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