Chris Getz still carries plenty of baggage, and none of it disappeared because the White Sox spent Saturday morning sitting atop the AL Central.
That part matters. So does the bigger picture: after a 121-loss season that made his promotion look like a disaster in slow motion, Getz has quietly put together a White Sox team that suddenly looks like a real contender. Chicago woke up at 67-61 after sweeping the Tigers in Detroit, taking a series from the Cubs at Wrigley Field and surviving a wild rally against the Mets.
Friday’s comeback captured the feel of this team. The White Sox fell behind 4-0, then watched Miguel Vargas, Randal Grichuk and Colson Montgomery go back-to-back-to-back. Jake Rogers finished it off with a two-run homer in the ninth.
Rogers had only been in the organization for eight days.
That’s the kind of small but sharp move that has started to define Getz’s work. Rogers was claimed off waivers after stints with Pittsburgh, Boston and Detroit earlier this season, and he already owns one of Chicago’s biggest hits of the year.
Vargas, meanwhile, came over in the three-team deal involving Michael Kopech and Tommy Pham. At first, the return didn’t look like much.
Plenty of people were ready to write him off as another White Sox miss. Instead, he’s helping power a lineup that now sits in first place.
Montgomery’s path has been messier, and that’s part of why his current run stands out. His development has taken enough twists to make people wonder if he would ever become the player Chicago hoped for. Now he’s driving meaningful home runs in August for a contender.
Those aren’t theoretical wins. They’re showing up in the standings.
Will Venable deserves his share of the credit, too. The White Sox started playing better almost as soon as he arrived, and while 2025 hasn’t been a perfect season, the group stopped looking like a team bracing for the next collapse. This year has brought the payoff.
Venable has a real case for AL Manager of the Year. The White Sox have handled bad stretches, stayed composed in a division race and bounced back after ugly losses. Friday didn’t feel like a miracle; it felt like something this team had trained itself to do.
Getz hired him.
That’s the other part of this story. General managers get judged for the manager they choose, the trades they make and the roster they build, and Getz can’t hide just because some of his decisions are working.
He added Munetaka Murakami to bring power. He brought in Luis Castillo when the rotation needed help.
And when the White Sox turned into surprise contenders, he didn’t tear them apart and sell off veterans for another batch of prospects.
He could have done that. No one would have been stunned. Rebuilding clubs have turned that move into a routine.
Instead, he gave the group a chance to keep going.
None of that erases 2024. It doesn’t wash away the criticism, and it doesn’t make the process that put Getz in charge feel any less narrow.
He had been running player development for an organization that struggled to develop players, then moved into the general manager’s seat without an outside search and watched the White Sox lose 121 games. Fans had every reason to be skeptical of him, and every reason to question Jerry Reinsdorf for making the hire.
But they’re also watching a young, entertaining team lead its division in late August. Getz picked the manager, built much of the roster and resisted the easy path when the team had a chance to chase the future instead of the present.
Maybe Reinsdorf hired him for all the wrong reasons.
The annoying part is that he may have hired the right guy.
In Other News...
White Sox Fans Finally Have A New Way To Judge Vaughn
Andrew Vaughn has spent enough time around the White Sox to know that first base defense is often judged by feel as much as by hard evidence, but Statcast has finally given fans a fresher way to look at it. The new receiving leaderboard breaks down the job into specific skills like scoops and handling different kinds of throws, adding some needed clarity to a position where the little plays can blend together from one game to the next.
For Vaughn, the early read is encouraging. Statcast had him as a net positive defender, with particular strength on bounced throws and balls arriving high, even if his catch radius still leaves room for improvement. It is a more nuanced picture than a simple good-or-bad label, and one White Sox followers can use as the season develops. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Put Two Key Infield Prospects On Hold At Once
The White Sox have put the brakes on two of their most closely watched infield prospects at the same time, with Roch Cholowsky and Billy Carlson both shut down for the rest of the 2026 season. Cholowsky is dealing with a right wrist issue, while Carlson is working back from a skin infection and the treatment that came with it, leaving Chicago to take the cautious route with two players it views as important pieces for the future.
For a farm system trying to build real depth up the middle, the timing is a frustrating one, even if the long view matters more than any one summer. Both prospects are now focused on recovery and on getting ready for the 2027 season, which means the organization will spend the coming months waiting to see how each one responds before the next step in their development comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Teels Return Gives White Sox One More Catcher Question Down The Stretch
Kyle Teel is finally on the move again, and the White Sox are hoping the latest step gets him back on the field for good. After a season interrupted by a right hamstring strain, a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his right knee and a left ankle sprain, Teel has been cleared for game action and is set to begin a rehab assignment with Charlotte, giving the organization a chance to see how his body holds up in real action.
For a White Sox club trying to sort out the catcher spot over the final stretch, Teels return to the lineup picture carries obvious significance. Getting him back to full health would give the team a steadier option behind the plate, but the rehab assignment is the first checkpoint, and the bigger question is whether he can stay healthy long enough to matter in the seasons last weeks. [Read more 🡒]