CHICAGO — With the Chicago White Sox moving toward a sell-off at next week’s trade deadline, manager Pedro Grifol is taking the blame for the team’s disappointing performance.
Grifol struck an optimistic tone after he was hired in November, but it hasn’t worked out very well in his first season as a major league skipper. After winning the AL Central in 2021 and going 81-81 last year, the White Sox had a 41-60 record heading into Tuesday night’s game against the crosstown Cubs.
“I’m disappointed. This is on me. It’s simple,” Grifol said. “I sat there and I told everybody that we have high expectations here and I was going to lead us to where we want to go. And it’s not happening. I’m disappointed, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to quit, that I’m going to stop working.”
Injuries have played a role in the team’s lackluster play, but that’s just one aspect of a myriad of issues for the club. Heading into Tuesday’s games, the White Sox ranked 20th in the majors with a .239 team batting average and 24th with a 4.59 team ERA.
“There’s a ton of different components, and we’re addressing them all. All of them,” Grifol said. “There’s no stone unturned here, believe me, when it comes to us trying to get this thing right, trying to finish strong and move on to next season. There’s a style of baseball that we want to play. There’s a culture that we want to build. It hasn’t happened. And that’s on me.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.