ChiSox expect ‘growing pains,’ more wins in ’25
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Jesse Rogers
GLENDALE, Ariz. — No team wants to the turn the page on 2024 more than the Chicago White Sox. After setting a modern-day record for losses (121) in a single season, the organization is hoping to take huge steps in a rebuilding plan that began late in 2023.
“I do think we’re going to win more games than we did last year,” GM Chris Getz said as pitchers and catchers reported for spring training on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, there are going to be some growing pains along the way that at times are going to challenge your emotions, but that’s part of the development of some of these players.”
The White Sox boast six players in ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel’s top 100 prospects. Acquiring them over the past few years — for players such as Dylan Cease, Erick Fedde, Lance Lynn and others — hurt the team’s big league chances, leading to that headline-making 41-win year. But the organization’s hope is those dark days give way to brighter ones as the prospects, many of whom are on the mound, make it to the major leagues.
“To have a spring training where a top ranked farm system is represented well in major league camps, it’s going to be enjoyable to see some of these younger players get some major league experience,” Getz said. “Going through a year like we did in 2024, most importantly, it just provided a lot of clarity for a lot of people, including myself. We had a lot of work to do, a lot more changes that needed to be made and we were able to accomplish a lot of that this off season and that started with hiring Will Venable.”
Chicago’s new manager comes highly decorated, having worked in Boston, in Chicago and most recently with the Rangers under Bruce Bochy. He’ll be tasked with bringing along a young group of highly touted pitchers such as lefties Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith to go with shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery. Another pitcher, lefty prospect Ky Bush, will undergo Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, according to Getz, but that isn’t dampening his optimism for his young group.
“We need to be patient and it’s hard to do in professional sports because we’ve got so many competitors out there on the field on a daily basis, but I do think there’s going to be plenty of exciting stories, and a lot of that has to do with the talent that’s going to work their way to the major leagues this season,” Getz stated. “I would say the majority of our roster has to earn their opportunities.”
The White Sox likely aren’t done dealing away talent, as center fielder Luis Robert Jr., outfielder Andrew Benintendi and first baseman Andrew Vaughn could be moved this year. All need to perform in the first half of the season if Getz wants to continue to load up on young talent. His hope is the struggles and lessons of 2024 will make the successes in the future feel that much better, while the organization is simply hoping to make positive headlines despite staring at another potential 100-loss season.
“Going through a year like we did last year, there was a lot to learn, a lot of painful moments that you had to endure that I think is only going to make us stronger,” Getz said.
In other developments Tuesday, the White Sox agreed to terms on a one-year, $1.95 million deal with outfielder Michael Taylor, a source told ESPN, confirming news first reported by FanSided.
NASCAR driver Katherine Legge said she has been receiving “hate mail” and “death threats” from auto racing fans after she was involved in a crash that collected veteran driver Kasey Kahne during the Xfinity Series race last weekend at Rockingham.
Legge, who has started four Indy 500s but is a relative novice in stock cars, added during Tuesday’s episode of her “Throttle Therapy” podcast that “the inappropriate social media comments I’ve received aren’t just disturbing, they are unacceptable.”
“Let me be very clear,” the British driver said, “I’m here to race and I’m here to compete, and I won’t tolerate any of these threats to my safety or to my dignity, whether that’s on track or off of it.”
Legge became the first woman in seven years to start a Cup Series race earlier this year at Phoenix. But her debut in NASCAR’s top series ended when Legge, who had already spun once, was involved in another spin and collected Daniel Suarez.
Her next start was the lower-level Xfinity race in Rockingham, North Carolina, last Saturday. Legge was good enough to make the field on speed but was bumped off the starting grid because of ownership points. Ultimately, she was able to take J.J. Yeley’s seat in the No. 53 car for Joey Gase Motorsports, which had to scramble at the last minute to prepare the car for her.
Legge was well off the pace as the leaders were lapping her, and when she entered Turn 1, William Sawalich got into the back of her car. That sent Legge spinning, and Kahne had nowhere to go, running into her along the bottom of the track.
“I gave [Sawalich] a lane and the reason the closing pace looks so high isn’t because I braked midcorner. I didn’t. I stayed on my line, stayed doing my speed, which obviously isn’t the speed of the leaders because they’re passing me,” Legge said. “He charged in a bit too hard, which is the speed difference you see. He understeered up a lane and into me, which spun me around.”
The 44-year-old Legge has experience in a variety of cars across numerous series. She made seven IndyCar starts for Dale Coyne Racing last year, and she has raced for several teams over more than a decade in the IMSA SportsCar series.
She has dabbled in NASCAR in the past, too, starting four Xfinity races during the 2018 season and another two years ago.
“I have earned my seat on that race track,” Legge said. “I’ve worked just as hard as any of the other drivers out there, and I’ve been racing professionally for the last 20 years. I’m 100 percent sure that … the teams that employed me — without me bringing any sponsorship money for the majority of those 20 years — did not do so as a DEI hire, or a gimmick, or anything else. It’s because I can drive a race car.”
Legge believes the vitriol she has received on social media is indicative of a larger issue with women in motorsports.
“Luckily,” she said, “I have been in tougher battles than you guys in the comment sections.”
Legge has received plenty of support from those in the racing community. IndyCar driver Marco Andretti clapped back at one critic on social media who called Legge “unproven” in response to a post about her history at the Indy 500.
“It’s wild to me how many grown men talk badly about badass girls like this,” Andretti wrote on X. “Does it make them feel more manly from the couch or something?”
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