White Sox GM Chris Getz laughs off his mistakes about Luisangel Acuña being a switch hitter

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox are still getting to know Luisangel Acuña — right down to the very basics, apparently.

General manager Chris Getz ate a little crow Thursday after fans started hammering him on social media for repeatedly misidentifying the team’s main return from the Luis Robert Jr. trade as a switch hitter.

Getz labeled Acuña a switch hitter Monday while rattling off the right-handed utility player’s merits during a scrum with reporters at Camelback Ranch.

"He can play all over the diamond," Getz said then. "He's a strong defender, base runner, switch hitter, can do a lot of different things to help you win."

Just not that last thing, as it turns out. Keen-eared Sox observers took note and then found three other instances of the GM making the same mistaken claim during the offseason, including at SoxFest.

“So I probably have been getting carried away describing his versatility,” Getz joked through a spokesman Thursday. “He can play every position on the field. Why does it have to stop there? I called Luisangel and told him that even though he’s just right-handed, we still love him.”

Getz was back in Chicago after observing the first couple days of workouts after pitchers and catchers reported for spring training this week.

Acuña, the 23-year-old younger brother of 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., hasn’t arrived yet to Glendale. Sox position players are scheduled to report Sunday.

Getz acquired him from the Mets last month along with right-hander Truman Pauley in exchange for Robert, the Sox GM’s last big trade chip as they look to turn a corner in their long slog of a rebuild.

Acuña, who batted .234/.293/.274 with in 95 games for the Mets last year mostly played at second base, is expected to open the season in center field for the Sox, “but we're not closing the door on the infield either,” Getz said this week.