CHICAGO -- Chris Getz spoke to the media for the first time in 2024 via Zoom on Tuesday, and here’s a look at a few topics touched on by the White Sox general manager.

I’ve been on vacation this past week and Jason Beck, our outstanding Tigers’ writer, did a great job of explaining the latest on Dylan Cease and trade talks surrounding the right-hander. So, my focus is on the non-Cease areas. 

FOR STARTERS, GARRETT CROCHET

The 24-year-old southpaw always has had a desire to start since being selected 11th overall out of the University of Tennessee in the 2020 MLB Draft. In 2024, Crochet will be stretched out to get that opportunity.

“Feedback on Garrett has been very positive, and he’s preparing this season to be a starter,” Getz said. “It’s something he has done in the past. He has the weapons to do so. He has had some health hiccups along the way. Physically he’s in a very good spot.

“At the end of the season and into the offseason, we continued to have conversations about what the expectations are and how do you see yourself and this is how we get there. He believes he can be a starter. We’ve seen him be a starter in the past. So we are going to go into spring prepared to stretch him out, and we’ll make adjustments along the way if need be.”

I went back and clarified with Getz and the White Sox after the Zoom regarding whether Crochet’s stretching out will take place as part of the White Sox bullpen, as they did with Michael Kopech in 2021, or as part of a Minor League rotation at the season’s outset. I was told every path is on the table right now for Crochet, with his being treated as a starter come Spring Training being the only certainty.

All 72 of Crochet’s career appearances have come from the bullpen, where he assembled a 2.71 ERA with 85 strikeouts over 73 innings. His 54 1/3 innings in 2021 rank as the most he has logged in the Majors, as he lost the ’22 campaign and part of ’23 to Tommy John surgery and his ensuing recovery.

Crochet spoke with great candor near the end of last season about wanting to give starting a chance in order to at least prove to himself he can or can’t do it. That opportunity has begun.

“I was hoping to get a little bit of an innings base under my belt this year so then I could do that a little bit easier,” Crochet said. “At the end of the day, I feel like that sort of routine is a better routine for me based on the bumps and bruises that have been happening. I feel like I have the stuff to fulfill that role. I just want the opportunity to do it.”

“He hasn’t started in a couple years,” Getz said. “So it’s going to take a little bit of time to appropriately stretch him out. We are going in with the intention for him to be a starter in 2024.”

WHO’S IN RIGHT FIELD?

That decision hasn’t been established yet, according to Getz.

“There are internal options,” Getz said. “We’ve signed some players to non-roster invites.”

Gavin Sheets, Oscar Colas and Eloy Jiménez are 40-man options currently for right. Sheets possesses left-handed power and has worked diligently to learn the position defensively, but is more of a first baseman by trade. Colas, who earned the starting job as a rookie at the start of 2023, has already been talked about by Getz as someone who would benefit from more playing time with Triple-A Charlotte.

Jiménez has been targeted as the team’s primary designated hitter. Getz added the team is “looking to add” in right field.

GOOD HEALTH

Getz provided an interesting explanation about keeping his team much healthier in 2024.

“It starts with the expectation to stay healthy, and I know that’s kind of a simple statement,” Getz said. “But the expectation is to play on a daily basis. With that mindset, you then learn how to prepare on a daily basis. It starts with the messaging, and it breathes itself throughout the organization and certainly at the Major League level.

“We are not going to do anything reckless by any stretch. We are paying attention to where everyone’s bodies are, making sure they are doing what they need to do to put themselves in a position to maintain their health and strength throughout the season. It’s not a perfect science.”

So, staying healthy for Getz has a component of “how we are communicating to them to keep them on the field.”

In Crochet’s career, has he thrown more wild pitches or allowed more home runs?

• Right-handed starter Marcus Stroman reportedly has reached a free agent deal with the Yankees, potentially taking another team out of the Cease pursuit. Let’s once again state the obvious: Cease is one of the game’s elite starters. So, if the White Sox trade him and his two years of control, along with his $8 million salary for 2024, the return should be significant. It will just take one team wanting to meet that ask from Getz, but he won’t force the situation or settle.

• I would make my way to Ann Arbor, Michigan on Saturday if not for the harsh winter forecast in the Midwest this weekend. I will be watching the championship parade and celebration for the 15-0 University of Michigan football team on television.

• One report had wind-chills for the Chiefs’ playoff game against the Dolphins Saturday in Kansas City in the minus-30 range. You are beyond a diehard fan to see that contest in person.

“We feel very strongly about what he’s capable of doing on the defensive side. We have seen stretches of offensive production and we are going to work on him getting as consistent as possible.” -- Getz on Korey Lee, Chicago's third catcher behind Martín Maldonado and Max Stassi. Maldonado and Stassi will open 2024 as the White Sox backstops.

Answer: Crochet has thrown five wild pitches in total, while giving up home runs to Chad Wallach and Randy Arozarena at Guaranteed Rate Field and Frank Schwindel at Wrigley Field. So, the wild pitches win.

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