White Sox GM Chris Getz says Grady Sizemore is a managerial candidate

Grady Sizemore made enough of an impression during his six-week stint as interim manager under general manager Chris Getz to be considered for the full-time position next season.

When manager Pedro Grifol was fired as manager of the White Sox on August 8, Getz said he would look for someone in uniform outside the organization, essentially ruling out his 42-year-old interim choice who had never worked as a manager. Before the Sox attempted to make up for the loss of their 121^st At Tuesday’s season-ending game against the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field, Getz acknowledged that Sizemore was a possibility.

“Grady is a possibility,” Getz said. “He has many of the qualities we’re looking for.”

Whether Sizemore has the player development talent Getz is looking for remains to be seen. And Getz has made it clear he will interview outside candidates. With candidates working into the postseason, he is waiting, without naming names, for them to complete their roles.

Sizemore, on the other hand, has been close with Getz and assistant GM Josh Barfield for some time, and he’s shown them a lot with his interpersonal skills, communication ability and the respect he commands through his status as an All-Star and everyday player.

“I have tremendous respect for Grady and the team,” Getz said. “Grady’s temperament is exactly what we needed.”

“The players reacted well.”

“We’re looking for someone who understands the current situation and is up to the challenge. I’m looking for a partner to help us lead this organization. That can come in a number of different forms. We’ve worked out our criteria, we’ve looked at the desired outcomes, we have a large pool of candidates, and we’re going to work through that and find the best solution for us.”

It’s possible that Sizemore, who has a year left on his coaching contract, is considering a one-year deal to oversee a team that will lose a lot of games in 2025, another rebuilding year. He’s already talking about next season as if he could have the job.

“As a team, as a whole, we’ve basically had these discussions,” Sizemore said Tuesday. “We think the best way to turn things around is to think about how we want to approach spring training, what we’re emphasizing, what we want to improve on, what our strengths and weaknesses are.”

“We’ve already had these conversations and brainstormed ideas about how to move forward and what the best way forward is. But we also know there are no guarantees.”

Stay tuned.

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Getz said manager of player development/Latin American operations Louis Silverio will lead a revamped international scouting department along with recently hired special assistant David Keller.

Getz also plans to improve the Sox’s analytics departments, which could mean more spending as budget meetings take place this year. He said Reinsdorf has been “very open” to such improvements.

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Getz said the Sox will not engage in the high-end free agent market this offseason, meaning they will focus on lower-end free agents and try to find a new addition like Erick Fedde, who was signed from the Korean League.

“We haven’t decided what level we’re going to work at as free agents,” Getz said. “I can assure you it won’t be the top of the market.”

*Getz reiterated that long-term health is the focus of management. “We are clearly in a rebuilding process,” he said. “When you have so much loss, it gives you clarity and direction about where you need to go as an organization.”