When the White Sox fired Pedro Grifol, they made it very clear that they would be hiring their next manager from outside of the organization. They promoted Grady Sizemore that same day and have given him an opportunity to get his first major league managerial experience. This was a classy move by the White Sox, as he can audition for other teams, but it also gave Grady a chance to stick around as the permanent manager. That begs the question, has Grady shown enough to be named manager in 2025?
So far, Sizemore has managed 42 games. He has won 11 of those games, while losing 31. That is good for a .262 winning percentage. To put that in perspective, this season Pedro Grifol had a .239 winning percentage. While both are very bad, there was an improvement with the same roster in the same year after they switched to Sizemore. For his first ever season in the dugout, that isn’t horrible considering the circumstances.
In his tenure, Sizemore has shown some fire despite managing one of the worst teams in baseball history.
For a team that was eliminated from postseason contention well before this, it is nice to see a little fire out of the dugout, especially when his guys aren’t getting the calls they should. This was a refreshing change from Grifol, as it seemed he hardly ever left the dugout.
While some of his lineups and bullpen decisions have been questionable, he is a first time manager and he doesn’t have much to work with. You could make the argument that his bullpen management has been much better than Pedro Grifol, which is a good sign.
While all of this could be due to the team getting a boost due to firing Grifol, as well as not wanting to be the worst team of all time, there seems to be more life with the team since Sizemore took over. He has also prioritized getting younger players at-bats, as since Yoan Moncada has come back from the IL, he has given him just one at-bat. This is the right thing for the team, as Moncada will not be on the team next year. It’s nice to see a manager with common sense.
Sizemore also pushed back Garrett Crochet’s start just so he could have his best pitcher go against one of their division rivals trying to make the postseason.
For a team that is well out of the race, I love to see this. Why shouldn’t the White Sox try and spoil postseason chances for one of their rivals? This is a great move and something you don’t see as much, and you sure don’t hear it come straight from the manager’s mouth.
While there has been some bumps in his first tenure, Sizemore has done a pretty good job, especially considering the circumstances. While it may be the best move to bring a name from outside the organization, the White Sox are going to be very bad for a few years, which won’t make them a very attractive destination for the top managerial candidates. It would make sense to let Grady get a run for a few seasons to see what he can do. If he doesn’t show anything, you can fire him and hire a more experienced manager when the White Sox are closer to contention, which would make their job more appealing.
The White Sox should do an extensive search for their manager, just to make sure there are not any better options. However, if they keep Grady around, I wouldn’t be upset.
