MLB Rumors: Royals' Pedro Grifol Expected to Be Hired as White Sox Manager

According to reports, the Chicago White Socks have a new manager.

The White Sox are expected to announce later this week that they will hire the Kansas City Royals bench coach.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported earlier in the day that Grifol and the New York Yankees bench coach were in the running for the Chicago Cubs managerial job.

Tony La Russa decided to step down as manager of the White Socks because of health issues.

La Russa hadn't managed a game in over a month. Three days later, the team announced that he had undergone a medical evaluation and would return to Arizona for further evaluation.

La Russa told Janie of the Associated Press that he had a pacemaker put in.

Cairo joined La Russa's staff prior to the 2020 season and served as interim manager for the rest of the season.

This was La Russa's second stint as a manager. From 1979 to 1986 he was the team's leader. The 78-year-old was hired in October 2020. He retired after the St. Louis Cards won the World Series.

In La Russa's first season, the WhiteSox won the American League Central for the first time in six years. The team missed the playoffs due to injuries and poor performances.

Grifol has been a coach with the Royals for three years. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1991 and spent nine seasons in the Twins' minor league system before retiring in 1999.

Grifol worked in scouting and player development after retiring from the game. The manager for the High Desert Mavericks was 52 years old.