It was no secret the White Sox had a dysfunctional clubhouse before their contention window was abruptly slammed shut after just one division title. However, a report from ESPN details the White Sox clubhouse that Pedro Grifol walked into as being so fractured that the first-year manager never stood a chance.
On Wednesday ESPN’s Olney and Rogers released a lengthy article detailing what was going on behind the scenes leading up to the White Sox earning the worst record in MLB history. The two spoke with over two dozen sources inside and outside of the organization.
During the 2023 trade deadline, other teams reportedly said no to the opportunity to add some of the White Sox veterans because of the “ugliness of some of the emanating stories” with one anonymous executive being quoted as saying “We’ve seen that act before.” The veterans in the clubhouse were cited as one of the reasons Grifol struggled as a manager.
ESPN reports there was a rift in the clubhouse between Liam Hendrik, who was not shy about speaking his mind to the media, and some of the other team’s veterans, specifically Kendall Graveman, Lance Lynn, and Joe Kelly.
Hendriks was diagnosed with cancer following the 2022 season. After undergoing treatment he battled his way back onto the mound in May of 2023. But before he appeared in his first game back the White Sox front office had planned a “welcome back news conference” had had arranged for players to be in the room to show their support. However, according to ESPN, several veterans were hesitant to attend and had to be talked into going. One staffer described the situation as “one of the worst things he had ever witnessed in sports.”
During the 2022 season, Hendriks went on ESPN 1000 Waddle and Silvy and shot down a recent report from Bob Nightengale that had come out earlier in the week that detailed a clubhouse filled with unrest, cliques, and the lack of player leadership. As it turns out the report was accurate. But Hendriks took issue with it and alluded that former White Sox starter Dallas Keuchel was the one leaking reports to the media.
It is unclear if the situation had anything to do with the rift between some of the other veterans, but it likely did not help. However, ESPN reports that this was not the only splinter in the clubhouse. Yasmani Grandal, who was rumored to have slapped Tim Anderson, was described in the article by one former teammate as someone who “tore people down instead of building them up.” Anderson’s off-the-field drama certainly didn’t help matters.
Former White Sox reliever Keynan Middleton threw gasoline on the fire by opening up about the White Sox culture after he was traded to the Yankees. He told stories of players skipping practice, sleeping in the bullpen and nobody being held accountable. This reportedly infuriated several White Sox staffers who felt that the players bore the bulk of the blame since Grifol was an inexperienced first-year manager and the locker room culture dictated by the players. Grifol had expected some of the veterans in the clubhouse to be leaders. Instead, the opposite happened, they took advantage of him.
Once the roster was stripped for parts over the offseason Grifol was not left with much talent to work with entering the 2024 season. Injuries to Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, and Luis Robert in the first month of the season certainly didn’t help. With many of the veterans gone, Grifol tried a more intense approach to managing. He created an acronym “F.A.S.T” for the way he wanted the team to play, which stood for fearless, aggressive, selfless, and technically sound. When things went south early in the season he called out the team for being “flat” after a loss to Baltimore. This rubbed some players the wrong way and ultimately marked the beginning of the end for Grifol.
Doc, I agree there’s plenty of blame to go around. Lousy players, awful scouting, zero skills taught in minor leagues, not on him at all. But Grifol was supposed to be in charge of that clubhouse. Cliques, infighting etc. affecting on field play is his domain. I think he was just weak and the players ran all over him.
Just do not make Grifol the scapegoat. Reinsdorf and his Tribe likely knew what was going on and did not do much to help. They just became purely profit motivated. No real virtue in that.