White Sox Preparing to Make Key Front Office Hire

An important piece of what Chris Getz has built during his tenure as Chicago White Sox general manager is the organizational infrastructure to scout, acquire and develop talented young players.

That infrastructure helped lead to an 84-win season in 2026 and valuable postseason experience, as the White Sox took their first step toward contention and emerged from the other side of a lengthy rebuild.

Mike Shirley, Chicago's former director of amateur scouting, was a significant piece of that puzzle.

Shirley served in that role beginning in September 2019 and helped oversee the drafting of players like Garrett Crochet, Colson Montgomery, Noah Schultz, Grant Taylor, Hagen Smith, Caleb Bonemer and, most recently, Roch Cholowsky. It's a group that includes several players who make up the current foundation of White Sox baseball, along with promising young prospects who could impact the organization for years to come.

Shirley worked his way up through the organization, beginning as an area scout before becoming a crosschecker, assistant scouting director and eventually director of amateur scouting. But in September, Shirley resigned and left the organization.

According to reporting in The Athletic, Shirley resigned amid an internal White Sox investigation into allegations of verbal harassment, including inappropriate racial and sexist comments allegedly made about and in front of coworkers.

Now, with free agency looming and several important roster decisions on the horizon, the White Sox also need to find a replacement to lead their amateur scouting operations.

Front office positions are already beginning to be filled around Major League Baseball, and the White Sox could be next to make a hire.

However, Chicago will be changing the title of the position, with GM Chris Getz revealing that the organization plans to hire a new "director of amateur acquisitions."

Historically, the White Sox have promoted from within when filling positions like this. But under Getz, Chicago has made a concerted effort to bring outside talent into the front office. It wouldn't be surprising if the organization were casting a fairly wide net in its search for Shirley's replacement.

Whoever the White Sox hire will play an essential role in continuing to build an organization with a healthy farm system, one that drafts well, develops talent effectively and can sustain success at the major league level.

Shirley helped the White Sox make several successful draft selections during his tenure as director of amateur scouting, and those players have already begun making an impact on the field in Chicago. But the White Sox were right to investigate the allegations against Shirley and accept his resignation.

Now, the organization needs to find the right person to replace him and continue building on the progress made in recent years.