CHICAGO (AP) With the Chicago White Sox moving toward a sell-off at next week’s trade deadline, manager Pedro Grifol is taking the blame for the team’s disappointing performance.
Grifol struck an optimistic tone after he was hired in November, but it hasn’t worked out very well in his first season as a major league skipper. After winning the AL Central in 2021 and going 81-81 last year, the White Sox have dropped four in a row and 12 of 16 overall to fall to 41-61 in 2023.
“I’m disappointed. This is on me. It’s simple,” Grifol said before Tuesday night’s 7-3 loss to the crosstown Cubs. “I sat there and I told everybody that we have high expectations here and I was going to lead us to where we want to go. And it’s not happening. I’m disappointed, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to quit, that I’m going to stop working.”
Injuries have played a role in the team’s lackluster play, but that’s just one aspect of a myriad of issues for the club. Heading into Tuesday’s games, the White Sox ranked 20th in the majors with a .239 team batting average and 24th with a 4.59 team ERA.
“There’s a ton of different components, and we’re addressing them all. All of them,” Grifol said. “There’s no stone unturned here, believe me, when it comes to us trying to get this thing right, trying to finish strong and move on to next season. There’s a style of baseball that we want to play. There’s a culture that we want to build. It hasn’t happened. And that’s on me.”
The White Sox got Yoán Moncada back before the series against the Cubs. The third baseman was reinstated from the 10-day injured list, and catcher Carlos Pérez was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.
Moncada was placed on the IL on June 15 with lower back inflammation, a recurring issue this year. He played eight games in a rehab stint at Charlotte, batting .333 (10 for 30).
“I feel good, not 100%, but I feel good enough to play,” he said through a translator. “This is something I have to deal with. But definitely feel much better now than we started the season and much better than the first time I came back. This is probably the best I have felt since everything happened.”
The 28-year-old Moncada is batting .227 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 39 games with Chicago this year. He went 0 for 3 in the loss to the Cubs, including a sacrifice fly that would have been a grand slam if not for a terrific catch by Seiya Suzuki in right field.
With the switch-hitting Moncada back in the lineup, Jake Burger moved from third to second base. It was the first major league start at the position for the 27-year-old Burger, who is second on the White Sox with a career-high 21 homers.
Burger had an Ian Happ liner go off his glove for a single in the seventh, but otherwise looked just fine at the position. He said he has “put in a ton of work” with White Sox coach Eddie Rodriguez on getting more comfortable at the spot.
“It’s a little different than third base. You have a little more time on ground balls,” he said before the game. “That’s a positive. And obviously it’s just working on the transfer over the last few weeks on double plays, and different arm slots for throws.”
The White Sox also had first baseman Andrew Vaughn back in the starting lineup after he missed five games with a bone bruise in his left foot.
“Definitely getting better. Progress little by little,” said Vaughn, who had two RBIs in the loss.
The White Sox also announced that they had outrighted veteran reliever Bryan Shaw to Charlotte. The 35-year-old Shaw was designated for assignment on Saturday.
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