The Chicago White Sox have reportedly hired Kansas City Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol to be their new manager.
Grifol, who turn 53 later this month, would succeed Tony La Russa who was brought back in 2021 after an absence of nearly 35 years from the organization. After winning the AL Central in 2021, the Chisox took a step back in 2022 and health problems forced La Russa to bow out in late August and bench coach Miguel Cairo became acting manager.
I am emphasizing the word "reportedly" in my headline because the White Sox were "reportedly" going to hire Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada. But then the Chisox shifted gears word soon got out they were going to interview former manager Ozzie Guillen who guided the team to a World Series title in 2005. But perhaps White Sox brass thought it wise not to hire two ex-managers in a row.
A collegiate player at Florida State University who played in two College World Series, Grifol spent nearly a decade as a minor league player in the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets organizations. He would then spend 13 seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization as a minor league manager, scout and director of minor league operations before joining the Royals coaching staff in 2013.
Grifol would be part of back to back AL pennant winners and earn a World Series ring in 2015. He was considered a possible successor to Mike Matheny and was interviewed for the position. But the Royals opted to go outside the organization for Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro. Grifol also interviewed for the Marlins managerial vacancy which went to Skip Schumaker and in previous seasons had interviewed for managerial positions with the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants.
The time has finally arrived for Grifol. Will the Chisox players responded more favorably to him then they did to La Russa and Cairo? Lance Lynn seems happy. Given that the White Sox were expected to win this season and similar things are expected in 2023 how long a leash will Jerry Reinsdorf give to Grifol? When we consider how fast the Chisox moved from Espada to Guillen to Grifol, the new skipper might not have a lot of time to establish himself.
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