The White Sox are expected to name Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol as their next manager in the coming days, according to a report from ESPN’s Buster Olney on Tuesday. The club hasn’t confirmed.
Chicago has been searching for a new skipper since Tony La Russa announced his retirement at the end of the 2022 season. La Russa left the team on Aug. 30 due to health problems and never returned, leaving managerial duties to bench coach Miguel Cairo for the remainder of the season.
Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, Braves third-base coach Ron Washington and former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen all reportedly interviewed for the job, in addition to Grifol and Cairo.
Grifol, 52, was also one of the internal candidates to replace Mike Matheny as Royals manager, but Kansas City hired Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro for the job on Sunday.
Grifol, who spent the past three seasons as the Royals’ bench coach under Matheny, will be tasked with getting the White Sox back on track after a disappointing 2022 season. After earning a postseason berth during the shortened 2020 campaign and winning the AL Central title in 2021, the White Sox fell to 81-81 and missed the playoffs this past season.