Primary leads and swing decisions?

“Where we are, we have to evaluate our success in different ways,” manager Will Venable said. “But that’s OK.”

Like Getz, Venable is committed to the idea that rebuilding the White Sox will take time. The standings aren’t something they’re worried about this season.

But Getz, who played in the majors from 2008-14, still finds himself getting worked up when he watches road games on television.

“You want to throw things but I don’t throw things,” he said. “I think my family could attest that I normally just start pacing. It’s a results-oriented business. But if you’re just chasing end results, that’s when you’ll get trouble.”

So the White Sox take their victories with the success of their young starting pitchers. Or by watching 23-year-old infielder Chase Meidroth have a .409 on-base percentage in his first six major league games.

Meidroth was one of the four prospects Getz acquired from the Red Sox in December for Garrett Crochet.

The others are working their way up. Catcher Kyle Teel is off to a slow start in Triple A Charlotte, which isn’t a concern given his pedigree. Outfielder Braden Montgomery is hitting well for Single A Kannapolis in his first taste of pro ball.

Righthander Wikelman González is two starts into the season at Double A Birmingham.

“We’re being very disciplined in the process,” Getz said.

Chicago also has 6-foot-10-inch lefty Noah Schultz in Double A and well-regarded shortstop Colson Montgomery in Triple A.

“He has not been productive, but Colson’s the best player on the field,” Getz said. “He’s going through it right now. He really is.

“Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. Personally, I don’t care if he strikes out the next 20 at-bats. I just, I know he’s going to figure it out. He just has to stay the course.”

That’s a mantra for the organization, because it could get worse.

Outfielder Luis Robert Jr., who is in the final season of his contract, is likely to be traded before the season is out. Lefthander Martín Pérez has pitched well in three starts and is another trade candidate.

“It’s tough losing, but there’s a lot of opportunity here,” said righthander Shane Smith, a Danvers native who landed with the White Sox in the Rule 5 Draft. “We’re on the ground floor as they build up the team.”

Venable, who was bench coach of the Red Sox from 2021-22, has long been seen as a top managerial candidate. He picked the White Sox as much as they picked him.

“I wanted to be there as they grew the organization,” he said. “There’s talent in the minors. As a manager, it’s an interesting challenge. You have to focus on the positives.”

The White Sox took two of three from the Red Sox at home this month. They drew 30,423 fans to the middle game of the series because the team sponsored a bar crawl inside the stadium before the game.

Fans were lined up at 11 a.m. for the 3:10 p.m. game. They were there for the booze, not baseball.

Eventually, Getz and Venable hope, they’ll show up for the team.

Chase Meidroth, 23, is a sign of good things to come for the White Sox.Abigail Dean/Getty

Stay the course

Rafael Devers understands winning. At 28, he has played in 26 postseason games, 15th in Red Sox history. He has hit .303 with a .955 OPS and 26 RBIs in those games.

With a contract through 2033, Devers is focused on getting back to the World Series. For him, 2018 was too long ago.

He believes the Red Sox are finally headed in that direction as an organization.

“We’re going to be OK,” Devers said during the last road trip. “There are a lot of new players. We need to get to know each other. We’re getting there.”

Asked why he had so much confidence in a team that opened the season 10-10, Devers pointed to an improved rotation that should benefit from the return of Brayan Bello from the injured list.

“It’s pitching,” he said. “You have to have pitching.”

Devers is still figuring out life as a designated hitter. That has involved spending a lot of time in the batting cage between at-bats, especially in cold weather.

“People think it’s easy to DH and it’s not,” Trevor Story said. “Raffy was used to being in the field. Every time I go [in the clubhouse] he’s taking swings. He’s trying to find a routine that works for him.”

Devers went into the weekend with a .684 OPS, well below his usual production. It’s a product of a disjointed spring training that was more focused on making sure his left shoulder was healthy than preparing him for the season.

“I’m feeling better,” Devers said. “It’s going to work out.”

A few other observations on the Red Sox:

▪ Garrett Crochet said he has not heard from USA Baseball about being on the roster for the World Baseball Classic next year.

For now, team captain Aaron Judge is the only player who has been named to the team. Crochet would seem like an easy choice for manager Mark DeRosa.

That Andy Pettitte is the pitching coach could help lure Crochet to the roster. Crochet is a tall lefthander who wants to accomplish big things and Pettitte is a tall lefty with five World Series rings.

DeRosa also has Dino Ebel (third base coach), Fredi González (assistant manager), Matt Holliday (hitting coach), George Lombard (first base coach), Brian McCann (assistant manager), David Ross (bullpen coach), Skip Schumaker (bench coach), and Michael Young (assistant manager) on his staff.

▪ Baseball can be a lousy business sometimes. Just ask Michael Fulmer, who was designated for assignment on Friday.

The 32-year-old righthander was called up by the Red Sox last week and threw 63 pitches over 2⅔ innings against Tampa Bay on Monday, eating up innings after the Sox fell behind, 9-1.

It was his first major league game since 2023. Those eight outs allowed Alex Cora to save some bullpen arms for the rest of the series and the Sox won both games.

“Michael Fulmer went out there and gave us what we needed,” Cora said on Wednesday. “That helped us to set up the next two days. And that’s what it takes. In games like that, somebody has to take the bullet and try to give us a many pitches as possible and save the bullpen. That’s the tough part of our business.”

Two days later, Fulmer was off the roster.

Fulmer will be just fine, whether it’s back with the Sox or somewhere else. But imagine doing all that work to come back from elbow surgery and you get taken off the roster after one appearance.

▪ Alex Bregman had a big week. He was 5 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs against the Rays on Tuesday. On Wednesday his son Bennett was born in Boston. On Thursday, his horse Love You Anyway won the ninth race at Keeneland Race Track in Kentucky.

▪ It was in this space a month ago that unheralded 22-year-old lefthander Brandon Clarke was mentioned as a prospect to keep an eye on.

He allowed one run on two hits over 6⅓ innings in his first two starts for Low-A Salem and struck out 11 with one walk. He’s showing a wipeout slider to go with a triple-digit fastball.

Look for Clarke to start popping up on Top 100 lists. Whether it’s as a starter or reliever, the Red Sox seem to have found a legitimate pitching prospect.

Quinn Priester pitched well in his first two starts for the Brewers, allowing one run on seven hits over 10 innings and striking out eight with five walks.

The Red Sox are happy with their end of trade. Yophery Rodriguez, a 19-year-old outfielder, was 7 of 24 with four extra-base hits and six RBIs in his first seven games with High A Greenville.

They also acquired the 33rd pick in the draft.

▪ Fenway Sports Group made significant investments in the future of the Red Sox with the additions of Bregman and Walker Buehler along with the contract extensions for Crochet and Kristian Campbell.

They also appeased Liverpool fans by retaining star forward Mohamed Salah and redoubtable center back and team captain Virgil van Dijk on two-year deals.

In addition, FSG recently hired former Harvard research scientist Laurie Shaw in a role that will include data-driven contributions across all of its sports properties.

Shaw has a PhD in computational astrophysics from University of Cambridge and his career has included work with the British government. He left a position with City Football Group in London, the company that owns Manchester City, New York FC, and teams in 11 other countries.

Alex Bregman was 5 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs against the Rays on Tuesday, then welcomed his second child.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

Etc.

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller had a quiet offseason, especially by his standards.

San Diego was a victory away from eliminating the Dodgers in the Division Series last season. But the death of owner Peter Seidler in November led to a muted winter.

Preller’s biggest move was to sign Nick Pivetta to a four-year, $55 million deal. His other additions to the major league roster were all bargain choices.

Free agent catcher Elias Díaz took $3.5 million to return to the team. Lefthander Kyle Hart accepted $1.5 million and incentives after playing in Korea. Jason Heyward’s deal was for $1 million.

Yet San Diego got off to a 15-4 start thanks to strong pitching. Pivetta was 3-1 with a 1.57 earned run average in his first four starts.

Former Boston College righthander Michael King started 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA.

Hart, whose only prior experience in the majors was four games with the Red Sox in 2020, pitched well in two of his first three starts.

The Padres are 12-1 at home, outscoring opponents by 48 runs. They also have six shutouts at Petco Park.

The lack of offseason changes actually may have helped the Padres.

“Continuity with staff and players, that breeds consistency,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We have things buttoned up … Let’s be honest, we had a good nucleus of players already.”

Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill are off to good starts offensively — although Merrill is now on the injured list. Xander Bogaerts has played well defensively at shortstop in his return to the position.

Yu Darvish, out with elbow inflammation, threw in the bullpen last week. That’s the first step in what is sure to be a carefully handled return for the 38-year-old.

A few observations after covering three regular-season games at Steinbrenner Field: It’s a much better atmosphere with 10,046 fans filling every seat of a spring training park than 15,000 rattling around inside Tropicana Field. The Rays also have cut back on the annoying sound effects and minor-league style gimmicks they employed at the Trop. The players have no complaints with the facilities. The Rays are using the luxurious clubhouse the Yankees built for spring training and the Red Sox were impressed with the improvements on the visitors’ side. The Rays were so determined to make the ballpark theirs for this season that they even brought over the plaque from the Trop commemorating the past winners of their press box fantasy baseball league. That all said, there are going to be some high-scoring games and series when the weather heats up. The ball really carries to the gaps. It also was amusing to have to explain to an Uber driver that there really was a major league game being played there in April … The Giants placed catcher Tom Murphy (back) and outfielder Jerar Encarnacion (left hand) on the injured list before Opening Day but haven’t had another transaction involving their major league roster since. Along with good health, outfielder Jung Hoo Lee has been a key for the Giants. He had a pedestrian first season after jumping from the Korean Baseball Organization but hit .348 with a 1.055 OPS, 14 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs in his first 18 games this year … The struggling Braves promoted Alex Verdugo from Triple A on Thursday despite his going 6 for 29 (.207) in nine games. Atlanta needs all the help it can get. They started 5-13, better than only the White Sox and Rockies, and have averaged only 3.3 runs. Braves hitters struck out 19 times at Toronto on Wednesday in a nine-inning game. Atlanta outfielders hit .177 with three runs over the first 18 games. No wonder they promoted Verdugo … Back in February, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he expected big things from Ben Rice, the Cohasset native who had an up and down rookie season in 2024. “He’s stronger and he has a better approach,” Boone said. “He’s got some big things ahead. He can hit in this league.” Boone knows his players. Rice hit .317 with a 1.064 OPS in his first 17 games with five home runs and nine RBIs. He’s been New York’s DH … Baseball America projects Central Connecticut, Fairfield, and Yale as the only New England schools to make the NCAA Tournament … MLB needs to revitalize Jackie Robinson Day. Having all the players wear No. 42 is fine, but something more meaningful is needed. Robinson’s legacy is about more than his jersey and special T-shirts for batting practice. The Dodgers, as an example, invited Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Dodger Stadium to speak to the players about how Robinson confronted segregation and why he considered Robinson one of his mentors … The 21st annual Good Sports Legends Gala will be May 2 at the Intercontinental Boston. The event includes cocktails, dinner, auctions and special guest appearances to support equipping kids to play sports. Go to goodsports.org for tickets and other information … Happy birthday to Mike O’Berry, who is 71. O’Berry was 22nd round draft pick by the Red Sox in 1975 and made his major league debut on April 8,1979. He caught Bob Stanley and three relievers in 7-6 victory at Cleveland and was 1 for 3 batting ninth in a lineup that included Rick Burleson, Fred Lynn, Jerry Remy, Jim Rice, and Carl Yastrzemski. O’Berry was traded to the Cubs after the season as the player to be named later for Ted Sizemore. O’Berry was in the majors through 1985. He appeared in 197 games for six teams, a classic good defensive backup catcher who hit .191. He returned to baseball in 1992 as a minor league manager then coached high baseball and football.

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him @PeteAbe.