CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox hired Kansas City Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol to replace Hall of Famer Tony La Russa as their manager, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the hiring. ESPN first reported the move.
The 52-year-old Grifol will try to lift a team coming off a disappointing season. The White Sox finished second in the AL Central at 81-81 and missed the playoffs after running away with the division in 2021. La Russa missed the final 34 games because of health problems and announced he would not return.
Grifol spent the past 10 seasons in a variety of coaching roles with Kansas City under former managers Ned Yost and Mike Matheny. He was part of teams that captured back-to-back pennants and won the World Series in 2015.
Grifol spent the past three seasons as the Royals bench coach. He interviewed for the managing job after Matheny was fired as part of a widespread shakeup within the organization after a 65-97 finish — Kansas City’s sixth straight losing season. The Royals hired Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro as manager on Sunday night.
Grifol previously spent 13 seasons coaching, scouting and managing in the Seattle Mariners’ system. He was also a minor league catcher who played nine seasons in the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets organizations.
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AP Sports Writer David Skretta in Kansas City contributed to this report.
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