The Chicago White Sox were expected to be contenders for a championship last year, but instead had a massively disappointing season, finishing at .500, 11 games back of Cleveland for the division title. After Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa retired, the White Sox looked to Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol to lead their team. Grifol had been passed over for the top job in Kansas City twice, but has a great reputation as a bilingual communicator and effective conduit between the analytics department and on-field staff.
With a much more talented roster in Chicago, Grifol has a better chance of success, although higher expectations as well.