CLEVELAND -- Coming into the 2024 season, White Sox general manager Chris Getz knew that his team was going to struggle at some point during its 162-game schedule.

He just didn’t think those struggles would come this early in the season.

Prior to the White Sox 7-5 win over the Guardians on Tuesday at Progressive Field, Getz sat down with members of the media to discuss his thoughts on how Chicago has performed so far this season. Here are the takeaways.

He knows the offense needs to get better
Chicago’s struggles on offense have been well-documented. With stars Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert Jr. on the injured list, the White Sox entered play on Tuesday near the bottom of the league in almost every offensive category, and sent out a lineup that featured four regulars batting under .200.

“The quality at-bats haven’t been there,” Getz said. “You look at the lineup kind of going into the year, to lose Louie and Eloy early on is a serious blow to the offense. We knew it was an offense that really had to put together consistent at-bats and be focused on a regular basis; there wasn’t a lot of room for error.”

In regard to Robert, Getz said that the injury is “going to take some time; it’s not just going to be a couple of weeks.” The All-Star outfielder went on the injured list on April 6 with a Grade 2 right hip flexor strain, and both Getz and manager Pedro Grifol said they didn’t want to put a timeframe on his return.

“Every athlete's different in how they respond to treatment and how their body heals,” Getz said. “We have doctors and trainers and [Robert] that are dialed in to get him better on a daily basis and we'll go from there.”

When asked about external acquisitions, Getz said it’s an avenue the team could explore.

“I think you're always open-minded and willing to be creative and improve any area of the team whether it be offense or something else,” he said. “We're focused on the group we have and how we can make that group better whether it be outside of the organization or in the Minor Leagues. We're going to look at all our options.”

While the White Sox offense woke up in its win over the Guardians on Tuesday in a game that featured some timely hitting, the Sox also suffered a key loss when third baseman Yoán Moncada went down with a groin injury that will likely place him on the injured list.

“He was in some pain out there, I feel for him,” Grifol said after the game. “He was in severe pain.”

It’s unclear whether the White Sox will promote from within or look outside the organization to replace Moncada.

The pitching staff has impressed him
Through 11 games, the White Sox pitching staff had a team ERA of 4.07, which is significantly better than their ERA of 4.87 from last season. Their starters have pitched extremely well, as the unit entered Tuesday with an ERA of 4.21.

“The starting pitching has been really good, so far,” Getz said. “When you’re going through times like this, too, you don’t want to just focus on one area that’s not performing. There are pieces of this team that have performed well, and beyond, perhaps, expectation. I think our starting pitching has done that so far.”

Sox starters had a 2.84 ERA in their last six games entering Tuesday, a span that was highlighted by another strong start from Garrett Crochet. Crochet allowed two runs in five innings against the Royals on April 7 after allowing one run in seven innings against the Braves on April 1.

“He's been outstanding,” Getz said. “That's a testament to his offseason, his determination and his ability to take advantage of an opportunity. He's taken the ball and more or less gone in there and carved up some really impressive offenses and gone deep in games.”

Michael Kopech has also impressed in relief, as evidenced by the two scoreless innings he tossed in Chicago’s win on Tuesday. Kopech threw 23 fastballs in relief, and topped out at 102 mph.

He’s not panicking
After the White Sox game on Monday, Nicky Lopez talked about how it can be tough not to press when there’s a giant scoreboard magnifying your failures every time you go up to bat.

Less than 24 hours later, Getz reiterated that same theme.

“Naturally early on in a season there’s the unknown of what is your team going to look like, how are they going to perform, what is this player going to do,” Getz said. “When it comes to our offense, I think it’s just more natural, you're drawn to the attention of underperformance because it hasn’t performed well.”

But, with 151 games left, Getz, like the rest of his team, is trying to focus on the bigger picture.

“We’re at the 10-game marker here,” he said. “It hasn’t shown well, and it’s a little bit louder, but you’ve got to continue to stay focused.”

After the White Sox win on Tuesday, Grifol spoke about his relationship with Getz, saying that he was happy Getz was able to visit the team on the road and visit the clubhouse.

“Chris and I have a really good relationship; we talk all the time and [owner] Jerry [Reinsdorf] and I speak from time to time,” Grifol said. “I'm glad he's here so he can see the team in person. He's a really good communicator and I take pride in that as well. I'm glad he made this trip.”