The Chicago White Sox moved quickly to hire a new general manager after cleaning house in the front office, but one of the team’s most iconic former players is not a fan of the move.
Longtime catcher A.J. Pierzynski was critical of the team’s decision to promote assistant GM Chris Getz to the GM’s job. Pierzynski did not understand the reasoning behind promoting Getz, his former teammate, considering the organization’s lack of success.
“I know Chris Getz. I wish him nothing but the best,” Pierzynski told the “Foul Territory” podcast. “Strong leadership skills. OK, we’ll go with that. Strong talent evaluator? Seven years, they only have one player you can come up with that they’ve developed from the minor leagues other than guys that were top 10 draft picks or traded for from another organization. I’m talking impact players. I can’t find one. These aren’t personal attacks. These are facts, right? And I wish they were better news.
“The problem I have with his hire as a White Sox fan: they didn’t talk to anybody else. Jerry knew when he fired (Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams), he was already going here. So this is on Jerry Reinsdorf. This is, to me, and I hope Chris Getz proves me wrong: you gotta go out and ask for other people, man.”
Pierzynski also pointed out that there was no evidence that teams had been clamoring to hire Getz away from the White Sox, and that the team’s speed in promoting Getz suggested there were never really any other candidates.
The criticisms are certainly valid. The White Sox have had little sustained success since Getz joined their front office in 2016, despite a promising crop of prospects when he took over as head of player development. It is not clear what changes by going from Hahn and Williams to one of their lieutenants. It feels like a change for the sake of making one.
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