White Sox general manager Chris Getz talked to the media after firing Pedro Grifol and discussed why they thought hiring Grady Sizemore as the interim manager was the right decision
The White Sox named major league coach Grady Sizemore the team's interim manager after dismissing Pedro Grifol on Thursday.
Sizemore, 42, inherits a 28-89 ball club and is tasked with leading the team through its final 44 games of a wretched season.
Most people know Sizemore as a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award honoree and a Silver Slugger Award winner with Cleveland, where he played for eight season from 2004-11. Sizemore finished his career with short stints in Boston (2014), Philadelphia (2014-15) and Tampa Bay (2015). As a player, he batted .265, held a .806 OPS, hit 150 home runs and drove in 581 runs in 1,101 career games.
Sizemore began his post-playing career in 2017 as a special advisor to Cleveland's player development department.
In 2023, after taking time away from the game to focus on his family, Sizemore contacted his former teammate, Josh Barfield, about joining the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, where Barfield served as the director of player development. At the time, no positions were available, so Sizemore accepted a $15-an hour internship with Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen.
Barfield became the assistant general manager for the Chicago White Sox after the season, and recommended Sizemore to Grifol and White Sox GM Chris Getz for a position on the coaching staff.
With less than a season of major league coaching experience, it's highly unlikely Sizemore will be a candidate for the White Sox' managerial opening after the season. Getz stated several times Thursday that he will be looking outside of the organization. Sizemore's job is to serve as a mentor to this young roster and squeeze whatever juice he can out of the team in the final 44 games.
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Along with Grifol the White Sox also dismissed bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar.
In their places, the White Sox announced Sizemore as interim manager, Doug Sisson as bench coach, Justin Jirschele as third base coach and Mike Gellinger as assistant hitting coach for the remainder of the season.
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