White Sox reportedly set to hire Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol as new manager
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago White Sox are expected to hire Kansas City Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol as their new manager, according to multiple reports.
ESPN senior writer Buster Olney was first to report that Grifol is expected to become the new White Sox manager. A formal announcement could come later this week, after the World Series is completed.
Grifol, 52, has been with the Royals since 2013, including stints as a roving hitting instructor, assistant hitting coach, hitting coach, catching coach, and most recently as bench coach.
He interviewed for Kansas City's managerial opening, but the team hired Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro instead.
Grifol will replace Tony La Russa, who stepped down as White Sox manager in October, citing health reasons.
The White Sox are coming off a disappointing 2022 season that saw them finish with a .500 record, despite beginning the season among the league's favorites to compete for a World Series title.
La Russa, 78, stepped away from the team at the end of August on the advice of his doctors and underwent a procedure to repair his pacemaker. He said in a statement that a periodic check of the device identified a problem and he was notified during batting practice on Aug. 30.
He added a second health issue was diagnosed during an annual exam earlier this year. La Russa did not specify what the issue was, he said he decided to "delay confronting it" until the offseason. While he was inactive with the pacemaker issue, La Russa said the second issue was analyzed and his medical team began to implement a "corrective plan."
While La Russa said his "overall prognosis is good," he added "it has become obvious that the length of the treatment and recovery process for this second health issue makes it impossible for me to be the White Sox manager in 2023."
La Russa called the team's 2022 performance an "unacceptable disappointment."
"There were some pluses, but too many minuses," he said in a statement. "In the Major Leagues, you either do or you don't. Explanations come across as excuses. Respect and trust demand accountability, and during my managerial career, I understood that the ultimate responsibility for each minus belongs to the manager. I was hired to provide positive, difference-making leadership and support. Our record is proof. I did not do my job."
Although it appeared general manager Rick Hahn was prepared to hire A.J. Hinch to replace Renteria, by all accounts owner Jerry Reinsdorf instead dictated the hiring of La Russa, even though the Hall of Fame manager hadn't been in a major league dugout since 2011. La Russa originally managed the White Sox under Reinsdorf from 1979 until partway through the 1986 season. During that first tenure, La Russa led them to a 99-win season and a division title in 1983, and Reinsdorf has said it was among his greatest regrets that he let then-general manager Ken "Hawk" Harrelson fire La Russa three years later in 1986.
La Russa's second run with the White Sox yielded an American League Central title and their first-ever back-to-back playoff appearance in 2021. However, the team's winning percentage actually declined relative to Renteria's final year in 2020, and the Sox, also as in 2020, were again bounced from the postseason in the first round.
Still, La Russa said the 2020 and 2021 seasons were "important positive steps for this organization."
Things got worse in 2022. Despite playing in the weakest division in baseball and beginning the season among the favorites to reach the World Series, the White Sox under La Russa weren't able to overcome a rash of injuries. They spent just eight days in first place and none after April 20. The team initially saw better results under La Russa's interim replacement, Miguel Cairo, but they weren't able to catch the Cleveland Guardians, who surged down the stretch.
Cairo also interviewed for the White Sox managerial opening, along with former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada, and New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza.