The White Sox didn’t shock the MLB sphere Thursday morning when they announced the organization dismissed Pedro Grifol as the team’s manager.
“There were a myriad of factors that went into it,” general manager Chris Getz told the media of dismissing Grifol. “You look at, you know, the 2023 season, the 2024 season, winning projections, win-loss projections and how dramatically below we were in the win column. Obviously, there’s a long list of reasons that go into shortcomings.
“You look at the roster, you look at the chemistry of the team. Just the makeup of a clubhouse, the 40-man roster, is much deeper than simply a manager’s decisions. With that being said, there was underperformance, and it’s now our job to turn the page and move forward and create an environment for the players that we currently have on this roster and for the younger players who are going to be breaking into the big leagues here shortly. And finish this season with more positives than we’ve had so far.”
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The White Sox are in the middle of a historically poor season, recently matching the American League record for most consecutive losses with a 21-game losing streak. Grifol posted a record of 89-190 as White Sox manager, with the team struggling to a 28-89 record so far this season.
Changes to an organization 15 games back from the second-to-league-worst Rockies and 61 games under .500 were inevitable.
But why did the White Sox wait until now to dismiss Grifol?
“The timing of changes and decisions like this are never certain,” Getz said. “There were ongoing conversations within our front office and Jerry [Reinsdorf] and others for weeks, if not months, on what’s best for the organization moving forward. I spoke about this when I was named general manager last fall; there are a lot of layers to this and it’s going to take time.
“We would like to move quicker than that. I think we would like to turn this around as quickly as we can, but we all know that there are no shortcuts to getting where this organization needs to be. There was an ongoing assessment that remains on areas of the organization that need improvement and the major league staff. And Pedro was part of that evaluation. And eventually, we made the decision to move on from Pedro and the coaches today.
“So I would say it was more of an ongoing conversation than picking a date on a calendar. We just felt like a change was needed, and then look forward to building this momentum, moving forward for our players, organization and our staff and our fans.”
The South Side waited through excruciating games, moments and losing streaks before dismissing Grifol. Heck, they had reason to make staffing changes when the team went on a 14-game losing streak in May. No one would’ve batted an eye at that move.
But why now?
The White Sox had several chances to make a change, maybe to avoid being on pace for the worst record in league history. They had the chance to bring in someone new and, potentially, avoid disaster before it struck.
Remember, Getz didn’t hire Grifol. Former general manager Rick Hahn and vice president Kenny Williams hired Grifol ahead of the 2023 season. Getz only became general manager last September. And general managers relish the idea of building out an organization that’s theirs. That’s fair.
Of course, it would’ve been unfair to Grifol to dismiss him before getting a chance to manage the team past one season. The White Sox gave him his first shot at a managerial position after wearing several hats around the league. But they could’ve saved themselves some time ahead of their new direction.
“I was learning more and more, and then as the season began,” Getz said. “It was the first time, really, to work closely with Pedro, with this staff, from opening day on. And (I) recognize that there were some misalignments along the way, some different belief systems. And there was lack of production overall.”
With that being said, it would be unjust to say all of the White Sox’s disappointment and losing lands solely at Grifol’s feet. Their roster has been gutted twice from the 2023 and 2024 trade deadlines.
In 2023, the front office traded the likes of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Jake Burger, Kendall Graveman and Keynan Middleton. This past deadline, they kept the momentum going, trading Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech, Tanner Banks, Paul DeJong and Eloy Jiménez.
The organization is focused on its up-and-coming farm system to shift into place as soon as possible. There isn’t much to write home about on the current roster besides Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr., both of whom — oddly — weren’t traded before the deadline.
Getz also mentioned the organization can get a head start on finding their next manager. He told reporters he’s had a personal list of managers with whom he’s interested in talking. The White Sox will take the rest of this season developing a list of candidates they wish to interview.
But, all in all, the decision to fire Grifol wasn’t easy for the front office, and that’s partly why it took them longer to make the move.
“I want to commend him for his professionalism, for his care, for his passion for this game and for the White Sox and how much he put into this,” Getz said. “You know, he is a friend of mine. He was a supporter, which certainly made this decision that much more difficult because of the amount of respect that I have for him.”
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