(670 The Score) Despite a miserable first season on the job, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol will return in his role in 2024, new general manager Chris Getz said at his introductory press conference Thursday.
The White Sox sat at 53-81 on their off day Thursday in a season that chairman Jerry Reinsdorf called a “nightmare.” The White Sox expected to contend but instead got off to a 7-21 start, and it continued to trend downhill from there, culminating in the firings of executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn on Aug. 22.
Grifol has yet to put his stamp on the White Sox’s culture, and his team has been poor at the fundamentals. Even so, he’ll remain on the job, perhaps helped by his previous connection with Getz, as they both worked in Kansas City together in 2015-’16 before Grifol came to Chicago ahead of this 2023 season.
“Pedro will be back next year,” Getz said. “I think it’s important to provide stability to our players. There’s been a lot of changes the last couple of years and certainly here recently, and I believe we need to get back to playing baseball, focusing on baseball. So when these players show up each day, they can just focus on the game and not the leaders in the organization.
“Pedro’s had to wear a lot of hats this year, and I certainly look forward to providing the support that he needs. Obviously, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done and that means learning more about what our coaches are providing our players, and I’ll gain that in the coming weeks.”