White Sox fire Pedro Grifol, name Grady Sizemore interim manager

CHICAGO -- The  Chicago White Sox, who tied an American League record this month with a 21-game losing streak, have fired manager Pedro Grifol and named former All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore as his interim replacement.

Grifol's firing headlined a series of coaching moves announced Thursday by the White Sox, who have 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.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz said there were a "myriad" of factors that went into the decision to fire Grifol, adding that "obviously there was something that was broken."

"You look at the 2023 season, the 2024 season, winning projections, win-loss projections and how dramatically below we were in the win column ... there was underperformance," Getz said. "There was some misalignments along the way, some different belief systems, and there was lack of production overall. You look at how many games that we've led early and weren't able to finish or how many games we haven't been able to come back to get a win. Obviously there was something that was broken."

The White Sox also fired bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third-base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar.

The White Sox ended their record-tying 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.

Sizemore, 42, joined Chicago's coaching staff earlier this year after serving as a minor league instructor with the Guardians and a minor league coach with the Diamondbacks. A three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove-winning center fielder, Sizemore played parts of 10 seasons in the majors with Cleveland, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Boston.

The White Sox also named Doug Sisson as bench coach, Justin Jirschele as third-base coach and Mike Gellinger as assistant hitting coach for the remainder of the season.

Getz said the White Sox would focus on candidates outside the White Sox organization for their managerial search. He said the franchise was open to hiring a manager without previous experience.

"We remain open to all types of candidates and all types of résumés" Getz said. "Is [previous managerial experience] a must? Well, I'm not going to say it's a must. I don't think it needs to be, but that level of experience is also going to be beneficial if the candidate is right."

Grifol's first year in the dugout was mired in 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).

Getz admitted that the 120-loss mark is "certainly something that we would like to avoid."

"No one wants to be associated to a record like that," he said. "Now, with that being said, it has not been the highest priority -- being that we just went through a trade deadline and moved on from players that obviously were attractive to other clubs."

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 Jiménez 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.