This morning, after firing Pedro Grifol and naming Grady Sizemore the team’s interim manager, Chris Getz spoke to the media about his decision to fire Grifol, where the team’s next manager will potentially come from, and how the White Sox will begin to turn around what has been a historically bad season, among other things.
Here is all the latest information for you to know regarding the White Sox’ managerial situation.
The White Sox next manager will likely come from outside the organization
One of the most important questions for Getz to answer: where will his next manager (the first one he will get to name as a GM) come from? According to Getz, it will be an external hire, with the preferred targets being those currently in uniform with other clubs. This may not mean solely current managers, but rather those with current coaching experience at the major league level.
This will likely continue to keep the Skip Schumaker rumors alive, as will USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale’s report.
Getz discusses why Grifol was fired at this point in the season
It wasn’t the world’s most satisfying answer, but Chris Getz did answer the question of why he decided to dismiss Grifol and a large portion of his staff today. In his answer, he mentioned how the team came out of the All-Star Break, as well as the expectation that, despite a flawed roster, they would win more games than they did.
Why Sizemore? Getz gives an interesting answer
With the White Sox dismissing so many of their coaches, someone had to take over for the next few months. Enter Grady Sizemore, the first-year coach who won’t be managing for more than two months, but still remains an interesting choice for the job.
Getz’s answer to “why Sizemore?” eventually boiled down to the environment he felt Sizemore could lead an environment more conducive to development and growth over the next few months. This is not a surprise, given that Getz has surrounded himself and his staff with former players. Getz likely believes a former MLB player, even for a little bit, is an upgrade for a team that will likely purge its veterans over the next few weeks and experience a serious youth movement.
White Sox likely to make a Bannister-like external hire for hitting
It’s no secret that with Brian Bannister and Ethan Katz, the long-term outlook for the White Sox’ pitching development program remains far rosier than that of their hitting department. Chris Getz went so far as to acknowledge that this afternoon, implying that the White Sox could make an external hire similar to the one they made with Bannister this offseason.
“We’ve struggled for awhile. we like where we are at with the pitching, if we have to bring in someone from the outside to get caught up we will look at that.”
Chris Getz
A Director of Hitting Development, or something along those lines, to pair with the work Brian Bannister is doing with pitchers is the most immediate way Getz could make an impact on a system that is seeing even some of its top hitting prospects like Colson Montgomery struggle this season. Considering the team’s lack of ability to develop the hitters they brought through for their last rebuild, this is an encouraging sign of acknowledge and – hopefully – action from Getz.
The Money will be Spent…. Eventually
When asked about when Chris Getz believes this roster could begin to turn around, the first-year GM was hesitant to commit to a timeline. However, one thing he did commit to: the White Sox are unlikely to be big free agent spenders in this upcoming offseason.
It’s not exactly surprising to hear this: the team’s farm system needs a lot more development that spending on a subpar free agent class won’t be able to hide (they tried that last time around). The assumption is that the team would likely hope to get a top-five pick in the 2026 MLB Draft based on a subpar 2025 season performance, but begin to truly turn things around starting with the 2026 season.
Other News and Notes
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Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
