White Sox fire manager Pedro Grifol, 3 assistant coaches, following record 21-game losing streak
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- With the White Sox on pace to set a Major League Baseball record for losses in a season, the team on Thursday announced they have fired manager Pedro Grifol.
The White Sox also announced that bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez, and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar had been relieved of their duties.
"As we all recognize, our team's performance this season has been disappointing on many levels," general manager Chris Getz said in a statement. "Despite the on-field struggles and lack of success, we appreciate the effort and professionalism Pedro and the staff brought to the ballpark every day. These two seasons have been very challenging. Unfortunately, the results were not there, and a change is necessary as we look to our future and the development of a new energy around the team."
The team's major league coach, Grady Sizemore, will take over as interim manager for the rest of the season while the team searches for a permanent replacement.
A three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winning center fielder with Cleveland, Sizemore, 42, was in his first season on the White Sox coaching staff, after stints as a minor-league instructor with the Guardians and a coach with the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks in 2023.
The White Sox also named field coordinator Doug Sisson as their new bench coach, and have named Charlotte Knights manager Justin Jirschele as the new third base coach and Mike Gellinger as the new assistant hitting coach.
Sisson, 60, has been field coordinator for the White Sox since 2018. He was also an outfield/baserunning instructor from 2013 to 2015.
Jirschele, 34, is in his eighth season as a manager in the White Sox system and second at Class AAA Charlotte. He has also served as the assistant field coordinator and a hitting coach in the Sox system.
Gellinger, 60, is in his 37th season with the White Sox organization, the last four with the Arizona Complex League team. He has served in a variety of roles throughout his career, including as a minor league manager, major league coach in 2011-12 and computer scouting analyst from 1997-2010.
Grifol, 54, was in his second season as White Sox manager. It was his first managerial job at the big-league level. The White Sox disappointed in 2023, going 61-101 rather than bounce back from an 81-81 record in 2022. New GM Chris Getz began to tear the roster down and rebuild this past offseason. As a result, Chicago is a ghastly 28-89, easily the worst record in MLB.
They are on pace for a 123-loss season, which would break the 1962 New York Mets' record of 120 losses in a season.
Starter Erick Fedde, closer Michael Kopech, and outfielder Tommy Pham were among those traded away at the July 30 trade deadline. The team on the field now has less talent than the team that went 27-71 in the first half.
The White Sox have had two double-digit losing streaks this year, including a 14-game losing streak and an American League record-tying 21-game losing streak. Even if you removed all of the losses from both of those losing streaks from their record, the White Sox still would have the worst winning percentage in MLB this year.
The White Sox ended the 21-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory against the Oakland A's on Tuesday, but got right back to their losing ways on Wednesday by blowing a 2-0 lead to fall to Oakland 3-2.
"I think I am. I really do," Grifol said recently when asked whether he believes he's a good manager (via MLB.com). "And I think managing is motivating people to play and work hard every single day. I think managing is preparing and making good decisions and serving people and including people. It's not up for me to decide. I don't make decisions on whether I'm a good manager or not. That's for other people to decide."
Grifol finishes his White Sox career with an 89-190 (.319) record in two seasons. Prior to managing Chicago, he spent a decade with the AL Central rival Kansas City Royals, working his way from minor-league coach to big-league catching coach, assistant hitting coach, and, eventually, bench coach.
The White Sox made the playoffs in 2020 and won the AL Central in 2021, but they've stumbled hard since. Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa stepped down late in the 81-81 season in 2022, and Grifol was hired to replace him. The former minor league catcher, who had four seasons of minor league managing experience in the Seattle Mariners system, spent 10 years in a variety of coaching roles with the Kansas City Royals from 2013-22.
The White Sox were one of baseball's worst hitting teams last season, when executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn were fired in August. Grifol remained in place after Chris Getz was promoted to general manager, but there hasn't been much to work with on Chicago's South Side lately.
Relievers Aaron Bummer and Gregory Santos were traded away in the offseason, and ace right-hander Dylan Cease was dealt to San Diego in March. Then All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and key hitters Yoán Moncada and Eloy Jiménez were sidelined by significant injuries early this season.
The White Sox also have been hurt by lackluster production from first baseman Andrew Vaughn, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 amateur draft, and veteran outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who signed a $75 million, five-year contract for 2023.
At the trade deadline, the White Sox kept Robert and ace starting pitcher Garrett Crochet, but they dealt designated hitter Jiménez to Baltimore, pitcher Tanner Banks to Philadelphia and infielder Paul DeJong to Kansas City.
The White Sox are headed toward their sixth 100-loss season, which would be the first time in franchise history it's occurred consecutive years. Their all-time worst winning percentage (.325) was recorded in 1932, when they went 49-102-1, and the 2024 team was well on its way to shattering that futility mark.
According to Sportradar data, Grifol's record is the worst for a single team among managers who've logged at least 100 games since Casey Stengel went 175-404 for the New York Mets from 1962-65. Grifol's record is the fifth-worst overall since 1900 among managers with 100-plus games.