White Sox fire manager Pedro Grifol after AL record-tying skid

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox, who tied an American League record this month with a 21-game losing streak, fired manager Pedro Grifol on Thursday.

The White Sox did not name an interim replacement for Grifol, but announced that their next full-time manager is “expected to be announced after the conclusion of the 2024 season.”

The White Sox entered Thursday with the worst record in the majors at 28-89 and are two days removed from snapping Major League Baseball’s longest losing streak since 1988, when the Baltimore Orioles also lost 21 in a row.

The White Sox ended the losing streak with a 5-1 victory against the Athletics in Oakland on Tuesday night, then squandered a two-run lead in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss.

Grifol, 54, was hired in November 2022 after Tony La Russa stepped down for health reasons. He promised a sharp brand of baseball but never delivered, as the White Sox went backward under his tutelage — especially last season when the team was fielding a more competitive roster. Chicago finished 89-190 under Grifol.

“As we all recognize, our team’s performance this season has been disappointing on many levels,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said in a statement. “Despite the on-field struggles and lack of success, we appreciate the effort and professionalism Pedro and the staff brought to the ballpark every day. These two seasons have been very challenging. Unfortunately, the results were not there, and a change is necessary as we look to our future and the development of a new energy around the team.”

Grifol’s first year in the dugout was mired by clubhouse issues and mounting losses, leading to the dismissal of his bosses, executives Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn.

After midseason and winter trades, including the deal that sent ace pitcher Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres, the White Sox were not expected to contend for the postseason in 2024, but no one expected them to challenge the mark for worst team in MLB history. The 1962 New York Mets lost 120 games — the most in a single MLB season in the modern era (since 1900).

The White Sox also had a separate 14-game losing streak earlier this season, and Grifol curiously called out his team after a 4-1 loss to Baltimore in May, saying his players were “f—ing flat” after Orioles starter Kyle Bradish  shut them out for seven innings.

The White Sox made the playoffs in 2020 and won the AL Central in 2021, but they have stumbled hard since. La Russa stepped down late in the 81-81 season in 2022, and Grifol was hired to replace him. The former minor league catcher, who had four seasons of minor league managing experience in the Seattle Mariners system, spent 10 years in a variety of coaching roles with the Kansas City Royals from 2013 to ’22.

The White Sox were one of baseball’s worst hitting teams last season, when Williams and Hahn were fired in August. Grifol remained in place after Getz was promoted to GM, but there hasn’t been much to work with on Chicago’s South Side lately.

Relievers Aaron Bummer and Gregory Santos were traded away in the offseason before Cease was dealt to San Diego in March. All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and key hitters Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez also were sidelined by significant injuries early this season.

The White Sox also have been hurt by lackluster production from first baseman Andrew Vaughn, the third overall pick in the 2019 amateur draft, and veteran outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who signed a $75 million, five-year contract for 2023.

At last week’s trade deadline, the White Sox kept Robert and ace starting pitcher Garrett Crochet, but they dealt Jiménez to Baltimore, pitcher Tanner Banks to Philadelphia and infielder Paul DeJong to Kansas City.

The White Sox are headed toward their sixth 100-loss season, which would be the first time in franchise history it has occurred in consecutive years. Their all-time worst winning percentage (.325) was recorded in 1932, when they went 49-102-1, and the 2024 team is well on its way to shattering that futility mark.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.