Chicago White Sox GM Chris Getz breaks down recent roster additions — and what’s next for pitcher Garrett Crochet

The Chicago White Sox have emphasized defense with some of their moves this offseason.

They’ll look to Martín Maldonado and Max Stassi to aid in that department behind the plate.

“(Improving defensively) starts with run prevention, and certainly the pitcher has the most control over it,” general manager Chris Getz said during a video conference this week. “I would say that the player on the field with the second-most control is the catcher.”

The Sox announced a one-year, $4.25 million deal with Maldonado on Jan. 5. They acquired Stassi in a trade from the Atlanta Braves in early December.

Getz highlighted the experience both provide — Maldonado has 13 seasons in the big leagues and Stassi 10 — along with their game planning, receiving, throwing and building rapport with others.

“Both highly respected players within our game,” Getz said. “They understand what it takes to be successful at the major-league level. Maldonado is a recent World Series winner (in 2022 with the Houston Astros), has been on a lot of successful clubs.

“Most importantly, to have them come in together, work together with some of our arms and other teammates, we look forward to seeing their work within our clubhouse and I think we’re going to benefit from that.”

The two join Korey Lee as catchers on the 40-man roster. Yasmani Grandal, the team’s starter the last four seasons, is a free agent. Lee, who worked with Maldonado previously in Houston, displayed a strong arm after the Sox called him up in August but went 5-for-65 in 24 games.

“We expect those two (Maldonado and Stassi) to be on our major-league club,” Getz said. “Korey, we feel very strongly about what he’s capable of doing on the defensive side. We have seen stretches of offensive production and we are going to work on him getting as consistent as possible.”

Reports of Maldonado’s deal first surfaced Dec. 26, the same week the Sox signed pitchers Tim Hill and Chris Flexen to one-year contracts.

“When we go through our assessment for arms that we feel can help our club,” Getz said, “we try to identify some things in their arsenal — or it could be a mechanic — that we feel like we can bring those players in here, improve them and make them be productive major-league players.

“We identified some low-hanging fruit, so to speak, when it comes to Tim Hill and Chris Flexen to get those guys back on track.”

Hill went 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA, nine holds and 26 strikeouts in 48 relief appearances for the San Diego Padres in 2023. Flexen, who like Hill has spent six seasons in the majors, combined to go 2-8 with a 6.86 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 29 games (16 starts) for the Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies in 2023.

“There was an injury with Tim Hill (a sprained left finger that required surgery Sept. 20) that he had taken care of this offseason, so he’ll be fully healthy come spring training,” Getz said. “And Chris Flexen, his pitch attack, some mechanical adjustments needed to be made. We’re on the same page and look forward to watching that play out.”

Flexen and right-hander Erick Fedde are new members of the rotation. And after three seasons in the Sox bullpen, lefty Garrett Crochet is another pitcher aiming to work his way into the rotation.

“The feedback on Garrett has been very positive and he’s preparing this season to be a starter,” Getz said. “It’s something he has done in the past. He has the weapons to do so. He has had some health hiccups along the way. Physically, he’s in a very good spot.”

Crochet, 24, was the team’s first-round draft pick in 2020, which was also the last year he made a start while at Tennessee. All 72 of his major-league appearances have been in relief.

He missed the 2022 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and appeared in 13 games in 2023, spending time on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation.

“At the end of the season and into the offseason, we continued to have conversations about what the expectations are and how do you see yourself and this is how we get there,” Getz said. “He believes he can be a starter. We’ve seen him be a starter in the past. So we are going to go into spring prepared to stretch him out and we’ll make adjustments along the way if need be.”

The Sox still need to work through the plan for right field, where Getz said a starter is not established. Gavin Sheets made the most starts (61) there last season.

“There are internal options,” Getz said. “We’ve signed some players to NRIs (non-roster invitations). We have some internal candidates but we aren’t ready to establish who is going to be in right field at this point.”

Whether it be the next steps in right field or with trade talks involving pitcher Dylan Cease, the Sox face some decisions ahead of spring training.