MLB Insider: White Sox cutting payroll in 2025 underscores organizational failure

The Chicago White Sox are in major jeopardy of being the worst team in baseball history. And not only that, they are planning to reduce payroll for the 2025 season, as first reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Cutting payroll isn’t the most surprising move by White Sox ownership. After all, the team is in the middle of a massive rebuild. They are nowhere near competing at the major league level, and likely not for a while. Attendance at home games has dropped from 24th in baseball to 27th, with the only teams seeing larger drop-offs being the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays (hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors).

But it’s disappointing for White Sox fans, it’s disappointing for the players on the White Sox, and it’s disappointing for baseball.

White Sox payroll decrease for 2025 is sign of organizational failure

The writing has been on the fall for a payroll decrease since the trade deadline. In July, the White Sox traded Eloy Jimenez, Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech, Paul DeJong and Tommy Pham. They designated Martin Maldonado and John Brebbie for assignment. They had serious trade discussions surrounding pitcher Garrett Crochet and outfielder Luis Robert Jr., with demands from Crochet of a multi-year contract extension in order to pitch in the postseason, complicating his trade market.

But the White Sox are expected to have trade discussions regarding Crochet and Robert Jr. once again in the offseason, and there’s a reasonable chance that at least one of them is moved. What other moves could look like remains unclear, though it’s unlikely that general manager Chris Getz would look to move cheap, controllable trade assets.

What is clear, however, is that the White Sox will not be big spenders in free agency. Getz confirmed that recently on NBC Sports Chicago, saying: “We’re not gonna be working heavy in free agency.”

The lack of spending, and cutting payroll, ultimately falls on ownership. Getz deserves some of the blame, however, with the trade that sent Fedde and Pham to St. Louis and Kopech to the Dodgers drawing strong criticism for being too light. Fedde has posted a 4.43 ERA in eight starts in St. Louis and Pham is now with the Royals, but Kopech has emerged into one of the best relievers in baseball since the trade.

So it’s not just on team owner Jerry Reinsdorf. It’s not just on Getz. It’s not just on former manager Pedro Grifol and his coaching staff. This is a widespread organizational failure by the White Sox that will result in fans watching a historically bad baseball team not trying to get better. That benefits no one and really, makes Getz’s job in finding a long-term manager in the offseason almost impossible.

Because at this point, with a terrible baseball team and little financial resources, what high-end managerial candidate is going to want to come to the White Sox?