Why Thursday was rough for these 2 former KC Royals

Too many defeats on the South Side of Chicago finally caught up with former KC Royals coach Pedro Grifol Thursday. After losing their 22nd game in 23 tries. and having won only once since the All-Star Break, the White Sox fired Grifol from the first big league manager's job he's ever had.

The move, long anticipated throughout the majors, came two days after Chicago snapped a 21-game losing streak by beating Oakland 5-1 Tuesday; the Sox hadn't posted a victory since July 10 when they got past Minnesota in the first game of a doubleheader.

For Grifol, who spent several seasons with the Kansas City organization, most of them as a major league coach, the firing was inevitable and probably long overdue. After spending three seasons as former manager Mike Matheny's bench coach, he left the Royals after the 2022 campaign to take the Chicago managing job, then went 61-101 in his first season at the helm. Pressure on the White Sox management, including general manager and former Royals infielder Chris Getz, mounted early this year as Grifol's club started miserably by losing 26 of their first 32 games.

After Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the A's, the Sox were 28-89, a frightful record that has them in the American League Central Division cellar, 40.5 games behind first-place Cleveland and 36.5 games behind in the AL Wild Card race.

Grifol had been in the running for other managerial posts, including Kansas City's' after the club fired Mike Matheny following the club's final 2022 game. How his lack of success with Chicago affects his future managerial prospects remains to be seen.

Grifol wasn't the only former Royal who received bad news Thursday.

Pittsburgh designated Edward Olivares for assignment

After spending the greater part of his first two seasons with the Royals traveling back and forth between their Triple-A affiliate in Omaha and Kauffman Stadium, Olivares played over 100 games for KC last season, and did so respectably. In 107 appearances, he clubbed a dozen home runs, doubled 23 times, drove in 36 runs, stole 11 bases, and hit .263 — numbers the Royals would, considering their offensively-challenged 2024 outfield, be more than happy with this season.

But Kansas City decided to move on from Olivares, who they obtained from San Diego in the 2020 trade that sent Trevor Rosenthal to the Padres, and dealt him to Pittsburgh for infielder Deivis Nadal last December. (Nadal is hitting .150 in 40 games for High-A Quad Cities this season).

But after disappointingly slashing .224/.291/.333 with five homers in 55 games for the Pirates, Olivares found himself optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis July 9. Now, almost exactly a month later, and after he homered once and hit .250 in 15 games for Indy, the Pirates designated him for assignment Thursday.

If he clears waivers, Pittsburgh can try to outright him back to the minors, but he has the right to reject such a move and test free agency. Should he choose the latter route, don't expect the Royals to pursue him — for whatever reason, Olivares apparently never gave Kansas City the comfort level it needed.

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