Tony La Russa is still making his presence felt with the White Sox

The news coming out of Chicago with the White Sox has been nearly non-stop for the last few days. Just the other day, General Manager Chris Getz said that former Manager Tony La Russa has been acting as an advisor to the team.

This is big news because the former White Sox Manager still manages to have his hands in the organization despite not returning as manager last season due to health problems.

This news shows that the White Sox are trying every angle possible to build a team that’s a winner. Now maybe this isn’t a sign of a surefire World Series-winning team coming up in 2024 but it does help that the White Sox are reaching out to people with a vast amount of experience to help them get things figured out. La Russa understands baseball, he knows the White Sox, and he can help them out.

But what kind of help can he give them? That’s the key. It appears as if La Russa is going to meet with ownership and manager Pedro Grifol and there is surely more that will come out of that meeting when it’s all said and done. It’s tough to tell what kind of advice La Russa will give them.

The Chicago White Sox still have Tony La Russa in the organization.

He could become a mentor of sorts to Grifol who, quite honestly, needs all the help he can get as a manager. La Russa could guide and instruct Grifol to become a better manager after such a dismal season.

Looking at this further, it’s likely that La Russa is also a part of the White Sox organization as an advisor because he is good friends with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Reinsdorf seems to like La Russa a lot and this is evident by him hiring La Russa as manager just a few short years back.

La Russa has been a part of the White Sox organization off and on for many years and has gained the trust of ownership which is important. Reinsdorf trusts what La Russa says and likely takes his advice when he gets it.

The White Sox can always use all the help they can get, especially with a rookie manager and a General Manager who could use some advice to construct the team and get it back to its winning ways.

La Russa has been a winner in the past and understands what it takes to build a winning organization. Perhaps his advice will right the ship and get things going in a positive direction for the White Sox.  

The 79-year-old LaRussa has suffered some health setbacks most recently towards the end of the 2022 season.

This forced him out as White Sox manager and into a state of semi-retirement. It’s been said that he’s been watching White Sox prospects and the members of the team to gather insight which he will likely share with Reinsdorf and Grifol.

Getz has stated publicly that he doesn’t like the current team. Perhaps with a little help from La Russa, things will improve and get better for the White Sox in 2024 and the team will crawl out of the basement and make some noise in the AL Central.