Cubs President Jed Hoyer and White Sox general manager Chris Getz are good friends who just happen to be connected by their roles running Chicago’s Major League Baseball teams.
Getz is currently trying to execute a rebuild on the South Side, while Hoyer successfully pulled one off in the 2010s on the North Side with former President Theo Epstein.
Getz said in spring training that he wouldn’t hesitate in dealing with the Cubs, even as Cubs-Sox trades usually carry some risk because of the animosity between the fan bases.
“There’s different ways to look at it,” Getz told the Tribune. “If we execute a high-level trade, you’re taking some of their future away potentially. If there’s a move there that’s an obvious move for us, we’re going to do it. I’m not scared to pick up the phone and call Jed.”
So that’s what Getz did.
The two North Shore residents pulled off a minor deal Saturday, with Hoyer sending 25-year-old infielder Gage Workman to the Sox for cash considerations. Workman, a Rule 5 selection from the Detroit Tigers, had been designated for assignment by the Cubs after hitting .214 (3-for-14) with two RBIs in nine games.
“Super excited, grateful to be with this team,” Workman said Saturday morning in West Sacramento, Calif., where the Sox are playing the Athletics. “Excited to play and try to make a difference over here and play my game.
“Grateful for my time with the Cubs and good people over there. But now I’m with the White Sox and I’m excited to be here and now I want to beat the Cubs.”
The Sox designated infielder Nick Maton for assignment after acquiring Workman.
“Really excited about the athlete,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “Some pop on the left side of the plate and excited to see what he can do, some defensive versatility. You could see him against some right-handed pitching. You could see him come off the bench and run. You could see him come off the bench and play defense. Excited to see what he can do.”
The Workman deal wasn’t exactly a move that would push the Bears’ draft news off the front page, but it filled a need for the Sox, who’ve struggled offensively, particularly at shortstop and at third and first base. They were hitting a major league-worst .205 entering Saturday’s game and also were at the bottom of the majors in runs scored (83) and OPS (.596).
Workman had only four starts at third base for the Cubs and committed two errors. A poor defensive play at third last week on a grounder helped fuel the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 10-run inning in the Cubs’ 13-11 win, and an error Tuesday in an 11-10 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers likely contributed to the Cubs’ decision to part ways with Workman. He also played five innings at shortstop, where he’ll probably get most of his playing time with the Sox.
“I think Gage was in a tough spot,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Saturday. “Rule 5 picks are always in a tough spot, especially on this team, kind of the expectations of this team. In a lot of ways you can say he did not get the appropriate opportunity. We couldn’t give him that opportunity.”
The Cubs started the season with rookie Matt Shaw at third base, which led to few opportunities for Workman, who won a roster spot in spring training but garnered only 14 at-bats in the first month of the season.
The Cubs signed former Sox infielder Nicky Lopez after DFAing Workman and currently are auditioning different players at third, with Jon Berti getting another start Saturday.
“My hope is that we’ll probably have a little bit of a revolving door there for a bit,” Hoyer said. “But while we play matchups, I’d love it if one of these guys gets hot and grabs more of the playing time.”
Meanwhile, Getz’s rebuild is off to a rocky start, to say the least. The Sox lost a major-league record 121 games last year and were 6-20 on Saturday, the second-worst record in baseball. They’re on pace to finish 37-125, which would break last year’s mark.
Getz often has turned to Hoyer for advice on the rebuild and other matters.
“We’ve become friends and we talk baseball, but we also talk about life,” Getz said. “He’s referenced the 2013 and ‘14 years of the Cubs and some of the moves he felt like were very beneficial to their long-term growth, and maybe some things that they would’ve done differently. My relationship with him is very valuable, going through it my first time. To have someone in the neighborhood just to talk to is nice.”
The Sox and Cubs haven’t made a high-level deal since former general manager Rick Hahn acquired closer Craig Kimbrel for infielder Nick Madrigal and reliever Codi Heuer in 2021.
That deal didn’t work out particularly well for either team. Kimbrel struggled in a setup role with the Sox, while Madrigal and Heuer dealt with injuries and didn’t last long in the Cubs organization. Epstein and Hoyer also dealt top prospects Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease to the Sox in 2017 for starter Jose Quintana.
That deal led to the famous “Thanks, Cubs!” call from former Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti after Jiménez’s home run off Pedro Strop in a City Series win over the Cubs in 2019. But Jiménez failed to live up to his early hype, thanks to injuries, and the Sox dealt Cease to the San Diego Padres in 2024 spring training to acquire four prospects for the rebuild.
After Drew Thorpe’s season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Steven Wilson is the only one of the four players acquired for Cease on the current Sox roster.
Workman will presumably get more of a shot than he got with the Cubs, who are in win-now mode.
“I told him just because it wasn’t a good experience doesn’t mean it’s not going to help you in your next experience,” Counsell said. “Overall I think this was a good experience for him, but when you’re delivering that message for him it’s bad news.
“If he uses this experience in the right way it’s going to make him a better baseball player and he’s going to be a major-leaguer. I’m very confident he’s going to be a major-leaguer after that conversation and I wish him the best. He’s a good kid and he’s got talent.”
