Pedro Grifol hinted at coaching staff changes this afternoon. This evening, the first idea of what those changes may look like took shape.
According to James Fegan and Daryl Van Schouwen, the White Sox are planning to “reassign” current Assistant Pitching Coach Curt Hasler to a minor league position next season.
There have been no further indications on the future of the staff – though, it appears no other major changes are imminent.
Hasler, 58, has spent his entire professional career in the White Sox organization. In 1992, he became a pitching coach at the Rookie and Class A levels in the system and continued in that role until he became a roving minor league pitching coordinator from 2011 to 2016. The 2017 season marked his 30th year in the Chicago organization and his first in the Major Leagues as bullpen coach on the staff of Rick Renteria. He, along with Ethan Katz, were the only two coaches to survive all of the firings from Tony La Russa’s regime, remaining in a role to oversee the bullpen.
The White Sox have not confirmed these reports, and overall, Grifol has been very vague about any names associated with potential coaching changes. However, he was willing to admit they could be coming:
“There’s a few ideas I can’t share. It’s a very sensitive issue. We talk about the staff, we talk about people who have been in the game a long, long time. Unfortunately, this is a game that’s predicated on wins and losses.”
– Pedro Grifol (via Scott Merkin)
As more updates become available, we will continue to provide updates.
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