(670 The Score) White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn approves of the team’s choice to hire Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol as its new manager.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Lynn said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Tuesday afternoon. “Whenever you get a new manager, unfortunately that means something didn’t go right or along those (lines). I’ve known him for a little bit. I got a chance to talk to him today, so I’m really looking to what he’s going to bring to the table, how he’s going to lead us and the things that he’s capable of for this group and making sure we’re better than we were last year.
“I’ve heard a lot of good things. A lot of people are texting me, calling me today telling me that I’ll enjoy him and that he brings a lot of energy and things that bring winning baseball to a team. So I’m looking forward to that.”
Grifol, 52, had worked for the Royals for the past decade. He was their bench coach for the past three seasons after previously working as a hitting coach and catching coach. Prior to his time with the Royals, Grifol also worked in the Mariners organization for more than a decade.
The White Sox haven’t officially announced Grifol’s hiring. They’re expected to do that later in the week. He’ll be tasked with sparking a team that had a disappointing 2022 season, as the White Sox went 81-81 and missed the playoffs after opening the season with championship aspirations. Tony La Russa announced in early October he wouldn’t return to manage the club in 2023 due to health reasons.
Lynn shed more light on what he had heard about Grifol.
“He’s a very good communicator, he’s very good at getting to know people on a personal level,” Lynn said. “And when you’re able to do that as a manager, you can figure out what buttons you can push on each guy to make them the best they can be for the club.”
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