Pedro Grifol is the new manager of the Chicago White Sox. (Charlie Riedel, AP)
The Chicago White Sox officially hired Pedro Grifol as their manager, the team announced Thursday.
“Pedro is a bilingual, modern baseball thinker who brings two-plus decades of experience in a variety of roles,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. “He is an excellent communicator and an experienced game planner who brings a high energy and detail-oriented approach to leadership. He is committed to building an inclusive and cohesive clubhouse, and we could not be happier to have Pedro leading our club.”
Grifol, 52, spent the last 10 seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization, most recently as the team’s bench coach.
He takes over after Hall of Famer Tony La Russa announced Oct. 3 that he would not return in 2023 because of health issues.
Grifol was a special assignment coach in 2013, the hitting coach in 2013-14, the catching coach from 2014-17 and the quality control/catching coach in 2018-19 before becoming the bench coach in 2020.
Grifol joined the Royals after 13 seasons with the Seattle Mariners organization. His time there included spending 2010 on the Mariners’ major-league staff.
He has managed in the minors, including Class A High Desert in 2012. Now comes his big-league opportunity with the Sox, who are coming off a disappointing 81-81 season.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service