Tack on yet another reason to the million other reasons why Jerry Reinsdorf is a terrible owner and needs to sell the White Sox as soon as possible. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times revealed in a recent column that Reinsdorf acknowledged manager Pedro Grifol’s performance was fire-worthy as early as midseason of last year, but did not let him go because Reinsdorf “wanted to wait a year so the dead money wasn’t as big a hit.” It has been evident from the beginning that Grifol is in over his head as a manager, but for Reinsdorf to acknowledge that and still keep him around is a slap in the face to White Sox fans everywhere.
Reinsdorf’s Spending Habits
Reinsdorf cutting corners at the expense of the success of his ballclub to save a couple of bucks is not a new development. The White Sox are one of only two teams in all of MLB that have never given out a contract of $100 million or more. The Oakland Athletics are the other team, and they are moving out of Oakland because of how poverty they are. The White Sox had countless chances to make the most of their past “championship window.” The White Sox could have signed star free agents like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Marcus Semien, and many others for only money. Jerry refused to do what it took to get any of them. This current team is among the worst the White Sox have fielded since Reinsdorf’s reign began, and the blame for that is squarely on his shoulders.
Grifol’s Ineptitude
Regarding Grifol, whether or not one can blame him for this season is debatable. The team is historically bad and has endured several significant injuries to a roster that severely lacked talent in the first place. No manager could win with this particular team in its current state. But Grifol should receive at least some blame for how the 2023 season played out. That team had plenty of talent to begin the season and still ended up losing 101 games. The 2023 squad was similar to the 2022 team that went 81-81 under Tony La Russa and Miguel Cairo, yet they performed significantly worse under Pedro. That is telling.
Grifol reportedly received a three-year contract when he became the White Sox manager in November 2022, so his contract will run into the end of the 2025 season. Given that they will have to pay him regardless, it makes sense why Reinsdorf thinks the way he does on this. He feels there is no reason to pay two managers simultaneously.
Final Word
This new tidbit about keeping Grifol around solely because of the financial aspect of it sums up Jerry Reinsdorf to a tee. He does not care about winning. It is just about the economic bottom line to him. Reinsdorf is the same guy who has publicly said that finishing in second place is his goal. The fact that an owner of an MLB team is aware that his manager is not good enough but still will not fire him is absurd. The day he no longer owns the White Sox cannot come soon enough.
100% agreed.
Grifool was in over his head from the get-go and has done absolutely nothing to instill any confidence in him. That Reinsdorf didn’t want to fire him and pay him for doing nothing says all you need to know about the pariah that is Jerry Reinsdorf. He could care less about the fans and so the fans need to not give him or the team other dime of their hard-earned money. This team will never get any better until the rot that is Jerry Reinsdorf is permanently removed from it.