This year’s MLB winter meetings are unlike any other Chris Getz has attended in the past.

“It’s different in the sense I’m running the meetings and having the direct conversations with other clubs and agents,” Getz said Monday at the Opryland Resort.

This is Getz’s first winter meetings since becoming the general manager for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team’s assistant general manager/player development before taking over as the GM on Aug. 31.

“More than anything, you’re just trying to find ways to get better with your club, regardless of what role you’re in,” he said.

The Sox are one of the teams to monitor at the winter meetings as they come off a 101-loss season. There are holes to fill and some players currently on the roster have been mentioned in trade speculation.

The one name that keeps popping up in that chatter is pitcher Dylan Cease.

“There’s certainly no urgency to move Dylan Cease,” Getz said. “And just like I’ve said from the beginning, if there’s an opportunity to help our club both near term and long term, we’ll look at it. But we’re talking about one of the best pitchers in baseball. There’s a responsibility for your organization, for the Chicago White Sox, to do what’s best for them.

“Dylan’s a star in our game. There’s no real reason to come here and expect us to move a Dylan Cease, but if a team brings something that meets a threshold that we feel we’ve just gotten a lot better, then we’re going to do that.”

Getz said there’s typically “a pace to these things.”

“I’ll continue to take the calls and certainly compare different opportunities for, perhaps, getting better,” he said. “The starting pitching market is always an area in which teams are looking to dive into to improve their club, and Dylan’s right at the top.”

With or without Cease, pitching is an area for the Sox to focus on.

“There’s different ways to go about it,” Getz said of addressing the pitching needs. “It could be a veteran. It could be a young player ready to break into the big leagues. We were fortunate to acquire some arms at the (trade) deadline. We’ve done a pretty good job recently with drafting and developing some of these arms that are pushing toward the top of the minor leagues.

“We are having a lot of conversations with both teams and agents that either have starting pitching and looking to move in deals, but also certainly talking to agents as well for guys who can cover innings for us.”

The Sox added pitchers Michael Soroka and Jared Shuster last month as part of the six-player trade that sent reliever Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves.

They also acquired infielder Nicky Lopez in that deal and later added more defensive help by signing shortstop Paul DeJong to a one-year deal.

The Sox will continue what Getz said could appropriately be phrased as a “retool.”

“I say that because we do have talent on this roster,” Getz said. “Obviously, it hasn’t worked, so you’ve got to be creative and find ways to improve it. Whether it be, we talk about the makeup and the chemistry of the team or certainly add depth or acquire players who are flat-out better. We are on a pursuit to improve this team and there are different ways to go about it.”

Generally speaking, there isn’t an urgency for specific accomplishments this week, “other than the fact that we want to continue to use the momentum that we’ve already gained here in the offseason from the Aaron Bummer trade and look for opportunities and if we feel like there’s something to really act on, we’ll go ahead and do that,” Getz said.

There’s plenty of time — and work to be done — before pitchers and catchers report in February.

“Every day you wake up, you’re looking to better your club and quite honestly I’m obsessed with that,” Getz said. “Talk about winter meetings and accomplishing something while we’re here, it’s possible. We’ve got months before we get to spring training and we’re going to look for every opportunity to improve the club. There are different ways to go about that.

“We need to fill out a rotation, and to feel good about it. We need to have depth underneath it. The bullpen, you’ve got to have depth, both at Double A, Triple A that are, what you’re hoping for is knocking at the door to become an option at some point. The defense, improving the catching position and maximizing that area along with other areas around the diamond. We have time and I look forward to continuing to get back to work and finding ways to improve this.”

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The Chicago White Sox chipped away at their offseason plans during the winter meetings.

“We were able to get some things done,” general manager Chris Getz said Wednesday. “We got someone for our rotation and we’ve got a weapon here with our Rule 5 pick. We laid a foundation for the potential of bringing in guys in certain capacities.

“I know a lot of people are disappointed more business would have been conducted here around the league. But we’re still moving the needle.”

Right-hander Erick Fedde is the addition to the rotation after coming to terms on a two-year, $15 million deal Tuesday. On Wednesday the Sox selected lefty Shane Drohan during the Rule 5 draft.

Meeting with reporters shortly after the Rule 5 draft, Getz addressed how close the Sox were to their next move.

“I wouldn’t say that we feel like we’re knocking on the door of something,” Getz said, “but it’s more getting a better idea of where we stand, whether it be acquiring a guy through free agency or trade.

“I will say we’re very organized. We’ve done a nice job this offseason with setting out a plan and feel really good about where we’re at so far. We want to continue to capture the momentum.”

Here are three questions after the winter meetings.

1. What’s next in the Dylan Cease trade talks?

The Sox weren’t going to rush into making a trade, such as moving Dylan Cease.

They left the winter meetings with one of the top pitchers mentioned in trade talks still on their roster.

“Everyone knows how impactful Dylan Cease is in this league,” Getz said. “But you have a certain threshold as an organization on a return on someone like Dylan Cease. And if there’s an opportunity to strengthen our club and plug some holes, which we need to do and continue to look for opportunities to do that, we have to consider it.”

Getz knows trade speculation can be challenging for players.

“I know he’s been reading his name in there, and that at times can be a little bit different feeling,” Getz said. “But he’s been traded before (going from the Cubs organization to the Sox in 2017). But he’s at a different stage in his career and Dylan’s really grown up, and he knows how I feel about him. He knows how the organization feels about him.

“He’s one of the stars in our game and we’ve really enjoyed having him. There’s certainly a chance he’s back with us and we’d feel pretty good about that too.”

2. How does the Erick Fedde signing influence the rest of the offseason?

Last month the Sox acquired Michael Soroka and Jared Shuster as part of the trade that sent reliever Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves.

On Tuesday the Sox signed Fedde. Getz said starting pitching remains a “high priority” this offseason.

“We’ve got some innings to cover,” Getz said, “and we’re going to try to get the best pitchers we can within the means that we have.”

Fedde earned MVP honors in the Korea Baseball Organization after going 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA in 30 starts in 2023 for the NC Dinos.

Getz believes Fedde has the chance to aid the Sox in multiple ways.

“Makeup, work ethic, the awareness that he needed to make a change,” Getz said. “And not only did he understand he needed to make that change, but he went out and did it. We’re talking about a former first-rounder, a guy that has made countless starts at the major-league level (with the Washington Nationals from 2017-22).

“So he understands what it was going to take, and he was very intentional with the changes he made. And most importantly, he was able to execute.”

3. What made Shane Drohan an attractive option in the Rule 5 draft?

Seventy-three of Drohan’s 77 career outings in the minors have been starts.

Getz said the lefty wouldn’t necessarily have to be in the rotation.

“There’s also versatility there. That’s what made him attractive,” Getz said. “There are enough weapons there with his pitch mix — and that’s something we identified as well is his attack plan. We feel like there’s some tweaks to it to really optimize what he has.”

Drohan went 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA in six starts for Double-A Portland in the Boston Red Sox farm system in 2023. But he had a 6.47 ERA while going 5-7 in 21 outings (19 starts) at Triple-A Worcester.

“At Double A, he was off and running pretty well, and then when he got up to Triple A, he slid a little bit,” Getz said. “Whether that was a fatigue factor — I know we dealt with it, a lot of pitchers going from Double A to Triple A with the ABS (automated ball-strike) system, it kind of altered their performance just because it was a different pitching environment.

“Obviously these things are bets, but there’s enough support and indicators to think that there’s potential here.”

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There were a dozen descriptions bouncing around Soldier Field on Sunday of the play that swung the Chicago Bears’ 28-13 victory, the third-quarter 38-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to DJ Moore — a play the Bears never had any intention of running.

On fourth-and-13? From well inside Detroit Lions territory?

Yeah. That’s “Puntsville” all day long.

“Prime territory to take a delay (penalty),” tight end Cole Kmet said.

But hey. No harm in trying to bait an offside infraction, right?

Thus, the Bears offense went into theater mode, approaching the line of scrimmage with 22 seconds on the play clock and working to put on a show. Of course, 21 players on the field and 62,185 people in the stands were fully expecting an intentional delay of game foul or maybe a Bears timeout.

But then left tackle Braxton Jones and guard Teven Jenkins started doing their bit up front, shouting at one another and gesticulating in an effort to trick the Lions into thinking a play was coming.

On fourth-and-13. From the Lions 38.

“Tev was doing a great job communicating and pointing,” Jones said. “He’s shouting, ‘Go to this guy! Go to that guy!’ We were doing anything we could to get them to believe we were going to snap the ball.”

Kmet got so caught up in the thespian silliness that, from the right side of the formation, he started gesturing at receiver Darnell Mooney.

“I gave Mooney some weird sign and he looked at me like, ‘What the hell?’” Kmet said. “I just knocked on my head.”

Fields, meanwhile, had the biggest duty, first making a dummy protection adjustment, then using an emphatic cadence he hoped could lure any of the Lions defensive linemen into a slip-up.

“Just treat it like a normal play,” Fields said.

And center Lucas Patrick? Well, he needed to recognize if a defender crossed the line of scrimmage and then immediately snap the ball.

“All of us together were on the same page there,” Patrick said. “And when we’re on the same page in making it look, feel and smell like something, it adds some validity to all of it.

“In practice, we had a few instances this week where it just happened. We were ready.”

Moore’s job was among the easiest.

“Once I see it snapped? Just go win,” he said.

And so Moore beat cornerback Jerry Jacobs with an inside release and ran a schoolyard deep route. Fields’ throw hit him in stride. Touchdown.

By the middle of next week, there may be a 10,000-word oral history and a two-part documentary in the works about all the Bears did right to capitalize on the moment that swung Sunday’s game. But truth be told, the Lions simply made a mistake. A big and inexcusable mistake. Specifically, standout pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson made the blunder that opened the door for Fields to steal a free play and capitalize on it with that 38-yard bomb to his favorite receiver.

It was Hutchinson, whose brain hiccupped with 1:41 remaining in the third quarter, causing him to jump offsides, which triggered the Patrick snap which led to the Fields throw that resulted in a Moore catch that gave the Bears the lead for good in what is now their most convincing victory all season.

“Just a momentary lapse in judgment,” Hutchinson said. “I’m disgusted with it.”

Again, every player on the Bears offense was expecting to leave the field for a punt while still prepared to react to a Lions gaffe.

“We weren’t even trying to run a play,” Jones said with a smile.

“Just supposed to be a freeze play,” Moore explained.

Kmet simply laughed when he thought back to Hutchinson falling into the Bears’ trap.

“I was shocked,” he said. “Shocked. … I can’t believe they jumped.”

There was chatter in the postgame locker room about how exactly the Bears worked to fool the Lions into believing a play was coming without also overselling it. There were questions asked about the instincts Fields used to alertly react to the free play opportunity.

“Really good throw, really good catch and really good reaction,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “When they jump, you’ve got to beat them to the punch. Because the defense isn’t quite ready. A lot of times the D-line stops. When they jump offsides they stop, they hesitate. So you have a little bit more time. And that’s exactly what happened.”

The Bears finally took a blunder by their opponent and cashed it in a big way, first with that explosive touchdown play that put them ahead 19-13 and later by finishing the job on their 15-point win.

During a dominant second half in which they outgained the Lions 189-76 and outscored them 18-0, Fields’ tiebreaking touchdown pass registered as the pivotal play on a day full of big moments that allowed the Bears to win for the third time in the past four games.

Also on the list of huge contributions:

Moore’s 16-yard first-half TD run on a gadget play the Bears just dropped into their playbook this week.
Jaylon Johnson’s second-quarter interception inside the Bears 20 that abruptly halted a Lions march.
Jack Sanborn’s fourth-and-1 stop on Jahmyr Gibbs in the fourth quarter with the Bears protecting a 25-13 lead.
Justin Jones’ win-sealing 9-yard sack with 2:44 remaining, one of 13 plays on which the Bears either hit, sacked or intercepted Jared Goff.

Without question, the Bears defense deserves acclaim for the second-half shutout it posted, forcing the Lions into three consecutive three-and-outs in the third quarter and limiting them to four first downs on seven possessions after halftime. Right now, that unit may be transitioning from the staircase to the escalator on their undeniable ascent.

Fields, meanwhile, played well overall, throwing for 223 yards and rushing for 58 more, including an 11-yard scramble TD early in the fourth quarter. That helped put the game away shortly after a T.J. Edwards fumble recovery.

On that touchdown run, Fields was eyeing Moore in single coverage on a corner route to the end zone. But the quarterback’s vision changed as he broke the pocket and rolled right.

“I looked down and saw green grass right there,” Fields said. “So I ran.”

He ran into the south end zone and helped to punctuate the Bears’ second consecutive NFC North win.

Still, so much of the momentum the Bears capitalized on began building with that fateful fourth-and-13, on what seemed destined to be becoming a disappointing possession. Until it wasn’t. Until Hutchinson jumped offside. Until the window of opportunity opened.

Patrick stressed the importance of the Bears’ readiness for that moment and didn’t underestimate his experience playing with the Green Bay Packers for six seasons where Aaron Rodgers made free-play magic a regular occurrence.

“Honestly, it’s something (offensive coordinator Luke) Getsy has hammered since coming here,” Patrick said. “When you can get yourself lined up and take a free shot, you have to be on it. … And look, I’ve had quite a few game reps with that situation. This league is all about banked reps. And that’s when you can tell you’re growing. I’m proud of all our guys for reacting the right way.”

Moore kept himself ready for a possible offside then pounced when it came.

“It’s a straight go ball at that point,” he said. “When he jumped, I was like, ‘Shoot! I’m out!’ From there it was like, ‘Meep! Meep!’”

While Moore got his legs turning like the Road Runner, Fields’ eyes widened.

“We practice that multiple times a week,” he said.

Fields took the snap. He ripped his throw. He gave the Bears the lead on their way to a statement win.

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