The clock is ticking on Pedro Grifol.
As the second-year manager of the MLB-worst White Sox, who barely resemble a major-league team, it’s a matter of “when” Grifol is relieved of his duties, according to The Athletic.
The White Sox have lost 12 straight games entering Wednesday’s cross-town matchup against the Cubs.
“All of the pieces are in place for a managerial change,” MLB insider Ken Rosenthal wrote. “The only question is when it will happen.”
That Grifol’s seat is sizzling is an expected development since the White Sox are utterly terrible and it’s the manager, not the players, who usually pays the price.
The White Sox are 76-147 (34.1 percent) with Grifol leading the way.
Grifol also may have made a misstep last month when he called his team “f–king flat” after a May 26 loss to the Orioles and then didn’t back down from the remarks the next day.
One player told The Athletic that Grifol erred in airing what he told the team in a public setting after previously expressing that sentiment in a team meeting.
Another factor working against the 54-year-old’s cause is that the current regime inherited him.
Former White Sox general manager Rick Hahn hired Grifol to replace Tony La Russa as the team’s manager in November 2022.
The Hahn-Grifol pairing didn’t even last a season, with Chicago firing Hahn and vice president Kenny Williams last August with the White Sox en route to a 61-101 finish.
The White Sox hired Chris Getz to replace Hahn, and while he had previously served as the assistant general manager, it wouldn’t be shocking if he makes his own hire.
Rosenthal estimated that Getz may have to commit to keeping or firing Grifol when the White Sox decide later this summer to call up some of their prospects.
He will have to factor whether Grifol has created an environment that will help the rookies thrive or if they are better off turning a fresh page in connection with the young players arriving.
There’s also the factor that this roster was built by Getz and Hahn, not Grifol. A manager can only work with the pieces handed to him.
Ultimately, though, any decision will be made by owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who can be unpredictable.
“Reinsdorf operates according to his own whims, no one else’s,” Rosenthal wrote.