White Sox could reimagine amateur scouting process in the wake of Mike Shirley’s resignation
CLEVELAND — White Sox general manager Chris Getz declined to comment on Saturday’s resignation of scouting director Mike Shirely, and the organization has termed the departure as “a personnel matter.” League sources confirmed to the Sun-Times that it came while Shirley was on administrative leave due to an internal investigation.
The future of Sox amateur scouting is a baseball matter under Getz’s purview. While he was willing to comment on it, the answers aren’t definitive yet. No one will be elevated to the amateur scouting position on an interim basis, and a meaningful outside hire could ultimately result. But Getz — who has overseen pro scouting becoming a “spoke” in the larger wheel of the player acquisition department — repeatedly suggested the amateur scouting operation Shirley ran was already in line to be restructured.
“We’re looking at a lot of different ways and we’ve been doing that for a while — not just a clear restructure — of conducting business on that front,” Getz said. “Once that’s mapped out, we’ll figure out what the needs are for the organization.”
Especially with a decision as momentous as the first overall pick this past July, there are more cooks in the kitchen for White Sox drafts than just scouts, as mapping out a player development strategy has become a larger part of the equation. Getz said the Sox are reviewing their entire “player evaluation process,” but did not betray concern that the team needed to repair their organizational reputation on the scouting front after a New York Times report indicated concerns were raised about Shirley’s conduct at the Area Codes Games, an event well-attended by evaluators across MLB.
“We’ve got a really good group of people that are talented, and really love working here,” Getz said. “My job is to find pathways for us to get to good decisions.”
Castillo going in ‘wrong direction’
Luis Castillo was a pitcher with a great career having a poor season when the White Sox acquired him on Aug. 2, but the team felt with more changeup use and some delivery tweaks, they could restore him to previous heights.
Instead, with Castillo sporting a 7.76 ERA in a Sox uniform and his velocity flagging to the low-90s in his last start, it’s gone in the other way.
“The quality of the pitches have definitely gone the wrong direction,” Getz said. “It has been surprising.”
Castillo is under contract through 2027 (with a 2028 vesting option), so the team is committed to finding a fix for his woes. But when it comes to restoring the 33-year-old to effectiveness in the final two weeks of this season, they’ve yet to say when Castillo’s next outing will be, or what form it will take.
“We’re running out of time,” Getz said. “Big picture-wise, we’ve got some work to do.”
Quero to play winter ball
Having fallen out of the Sox catching rotation after entering last season as a top-100 prospect, Edgar Quero intends to play in the Dominican winter league (LIDOM) this offseason.
The 23-year-old Quero estimates he’ll play for 4-6 weeks, and while he hasn’t discussed the decision with the team yet, indications are they’ll support the idea. Quero acknowledged that in light of this season, his future role with the Sox is uncertain.
Quero believes he’s better than his .203/.284/.257 batting line in 69 games this season have shown.