The Chicago White Sox are looking to hire a new manager for 2025 and beyond. They haven't said that publicly, but guaranteed yourself to be under .500 before August, and being on pace for the worst season in MLB history certainly warrants that kind of speculation.
Pedro Grifol is amongst the worst managers in Major League Baseball history for a variety of reasons. The White Sox will instantly improve by 10 games the second he leaves.
Who is going to replace him though? Well, the newest rumor suggests that AJ Pierzynski could be the man for the job. The former World Series-winning White Sox catcher could be a great candidate for the job.
Does anybody trust Chris Getz to make this hire? Of course not! However, We've seen AJ in a leadership role as a player and he thrived. Seeing him in a dugout would be nothing short of interesting, to say the least.
There are pros and cons to a hire like this. These are the two biggest pros and the one biggest con:
A pro is that AJ Pierzynski will bring the attitude needed to galvanize
The Chicago White Sox have nothing with Pedro Grifol as their manager. Not only is his decision-making and baseball strategy horrible, but he also does nothing to galvanize the team.
He isn't a leader out there every day saying what needs to be said. There is a lot of coasting going on around that team and he does nothing to stop it.
He also doesn't have the winning attitude that a good manager needs. He made it seem like it when he was first hired but never lived up to it.
Pierzynski will step in with a lot of fire. He knows what it takes to win and he brought the attitude every day as a player. He was obsessed with getting the job done right and he did it more often than not. As a manager, you'd like to think he can do it there too.