White Sox fire GM Rick Hahn, EVP Ken Williams: Who replaces them?

Chicago White Sox fans will tell you that they weren't particularly hopeful about the outlook for the club in the 2023 season before it began. But even if that's the case, it's hard to imagine they saw the full-blown disaster of this year coming. And now the piper's being paid when it comes to the front office.

On Tuesday, the White Sox announced that general manager and senior vice president Rick Hahn along with executive vice president Ken Williams had been fired. The move came, as reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, after team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf conducted interviews in recent weeks to conclude the root of the problem on the Southside.

The White Sox entered Tuesday 27 games under .500 (49-76) and 16 games out of the AL Central lead, arguably the most winnable division in MLB. They held a fire sale at the trade deadline that sent away franchise stalwarts like Lucas Giolito, among others, and also had Tim Anderson -- in the midst of the worst season of his career -- trying to box Jose Ramirez and promptly getting KO'd.

It's been about as bad as it possibly could be in Chicago, which is why changes are coming. But where are those changes set to come?

White Sox: Insider names early Rick Hahn replacement candidate

The expectation should surely be for the White Sox to be meticulous in finding a replacement for both Hahn and Williams. Having said that, Nightengale also added that, should Chicago look internally for a new GM, that current assistant general manager Chris Getz is a "leading candidate" for the job.

Getz played seven years in MLB in his career after being drafted by the White Sox in 2005 and debuting in 2008. He spent several years in the lower levels of the front office before he was promoted to assistant GM in 2021.

You could make the argument, however, that an internal hire is the last thing that the White Sox need.

When you consider the dysfunction that led to this dismal 2023 campaign, Reinsdorf made the right decision to let Hahn and Williams go. Changes were not only warranted but wholly necessary to get a proud organization with loyal fans back heading in the right direction.

These dismissals are part of that, but hiring someone who was part of that regime as a replacement would risk falling into a similar pattern quickly. However, it's worth noting that Getz, only 39 years old, could bring young blood into the equation to help bring about that necessary change.

Obviously this is fresh, so we'll find out much more about the plans for the White Sox moving forward. On the whole, though, the moves made on Tuesday were a good start to bringing about an overhaul that needed to happen -- the hope is that the right decisions continue to be made in replacing Hahn and Williams.