This is still accurate, but asking around and reading up on Getz’s history with the Royals has at least added some nuance to the hire, if not lending it a whole new angle. The Sox definitely went young and less experienced, will undoubtedly avoid paying a large salary by doing so, and are leaning more toward a calculated risk than anything resembling a sure thing. But the move seems more driven by a different motivation than their love of bringing back old favorites, rather it’s their tendency to look at successful division rivals as a model.

The Royals made the move to bring Getz into the fold as soon as he was available after his retirement from playing in 2014, and specifically placed him to work in player development. His actual title with the Royals is hard to pin down, but the focus is unmistakable. The role offered ample opportunity for Getz to work alongside the Royals’ scouts and learn their approach, but also the chance to do some actual player instruction in their farm system.

Royals GM Dayton Moore is just as well known for taking care of his people as anyone in the game, and rather than have Getz languish in a token position, he was brought along aggressively. The Detroit News even reported him as weighing in on trades for Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist within his first year with the organization, in addition to having his fingerprints on some of the rookies who debuted in 2015.

This is not to argue that Getz is actually an amazing hire (because that’s still a total unknown) or that former experience with the Sox organization did not help him land this job (because c’mon), but this is a move that is far more about trying to steal the mojo of the 2013-present Royals than insularity.

While that notion might conjure the image of Rick Hahn cold-calling Royals staffers and asking what’s the secret behind “Kansas City Specials,” trying to poach from an organization that has thrived from building high defensive competency and contact skills from its position players sounds a lot more like what they should be doing to overhaul this franchise.

Lead Image Credit: Jerry Lal // USA Today Sports Images

From Scott Merkin’s typically superb reporting, we learned this weekend that Director of Player Development Nick Capra was making the very unusual transition from five seasons as the White Sox Director of Player Development, to Third Base Coach for the 2017 season, while Curt Hasler will go from Minor League Pitching Coordinator to Bullpen Coach.

While Joe McEwing becoming the Bench Coach for next season would ostensibly seem like the biggest news, Capra’s move hinted at some real overhaul of the Sox oft-maligned minor league talent pipeline. Capra staying in the organization suggested some degree of typical Sox business, but as a longtime minor league manager, it’s hardly a role for which he’s ill-suited.

Likely a lot of the optimism for an organizational sea change evaporated Sunday as Merkin reported that Capra’s replacement will be the 33-year-old Chris Getz, the former White Sox and Royals second baseman who was playing major league ball as recently as 2014. For an organization that is regularly lampooned for their preference for hiring former players, often at the expense of scrutiny on experience and qualifications, this will not hit the right note. And in general, the reception of any hire of a up-and-comer like Getz rather than a well-traveled front office veteran, rides on the credibility of the organization that makes it, and the Sox obviously do not have an esteemed reputation to flaunt.

None of which actually has anything to do with Getz, who has worked the last few years in Dayton Moore’s operation in Kansas City, and has done as much as he could to build up a reputation as a sharp, likeable figure. Now, he will be entering a position where people management skills and connections in the industry will weigh as heavily into his success as any other quality. There’s reason to believe that this is the type of role Getz would be up for in Kansas City before long if the Sox had not offered it to him first. And there’s an alternate world, where we get to look upon this news without a jaundiced eye, and Getz seems like a guy with plenty of potential to succeed in a role that is well-suited for a smart and personable ex-player.

But we don’t yet live in such a world. The Sox recent history means that this decision is subject to skepticism that picking a less experienced candidate was a cost conscious move, and whether the search to identify the next Jason McLeod extended beyond the bridge of their own nose.

Changes in player development were needed, and the Sox recognizing that and making an effort in that regard is a hugely important step that cannot be discounted. But taking a leap on an inexperienced former player will look like a misstep, even if it is actually the right one.

Lead Image Credit: Jerry Lai // USA Today Sports Images