Despite some of the reports of the past few days, it’s possible that a Chris Getz/Dayton Moore duo isn’t a lock to lead the White Sox baseball operations department.
This morning, Jesse Rogers of ESPN named three individuals who could be potential candidates to lead the White Sox’s front office following the firing of Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn: Getz, James Click, and Preston Mattingly.
At this point, White Sox fans are obviously familiar with Getz. However, both Click and Mattingly are interesting names that had not been thrown out there by anyone up to this point.
Click, 45, is currently the Vice President of Baseball Strategy for the Toronto Blue Jays. Click graduated from Yale University in 2000, and after graduation, wrote for Baseball Prospectus, playing a role in maintaining their PECOTA algorithm – which, if you’re unfamiliar, is their yearly projections system. He got into baseball at the recommendation of Chaim Bloom – who is now the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox. Click started with the Rays as an intern and was eventually promoted to Vice President of Baseball Operations in 2017. He was hired in January 2020 by the Houston Astros as their General Manager, winning the World Series in 2022.
After his contract expired after the 2022 season, Click rejected a one-year contract offer from the Astros and the team announced that they would move on without Click. They would go on to hire Dana Brown from the Atlanta Braves, as it was rumored that Click and Astros’ owner Jim Crane did not get along well. Click has become a relatively known name because of the World Series championship last season, and would certainly be more than qualified to head up the White Sox’ baseball operations department.
Mattingly, 36, is the Phillies’ Director of Player Development and the son of former major leaguer Don Mattingly. According to Dave Dombrowski, Mattingly was hired on the recommendation of a baseball person he respected who called Mattingly a “difference maker.” The Dodgers selected Mattingly with the 31st overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft. He played six seasons in the Minor Leagues before he enrolled at Lamar University in Texas, where he was the captain of the men’s basketball team.
Since being hired, Mattingly has been working to revive the Phillies’ farm systems after years of neglect. Mattingly is well-liked and well-respected within the Phillies’ organization and among Phillies’ fans, but it would be quite a leap to see him go from Director of Player Development straight to a head of baseball operations role – which is the same jump that Chris Getz would be making.
As more names continue to come out, we will continue to provide updates.
Featured Image: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports
I really like the idea of someone outside the organization coming in for a fresh start. I think Getz failures, as shown by the low ranking farm system would be an impediment to the teams success.
I have no opposing argument to your opinion.
Whoever comes in will have to be given free reign! While Hahn and Williams had to go, it was known that Reinsdorf’s constraints and meddling didn’t help! The new GM can’t be expected to succeed without being free to do his job!