Over his first nine starts in the second half, Michael Kopech had a 7.34 ERA with more walks (35) than strikeouts (30) over 38 innings, and he'd failed to complete five innings his last four times out.
Despite the obvious struggles maintaining control beyond an inning, Pedro Grifol remained adamant that Kopech's future lay in the rotation:
“We talked to him about it and we’re going to back off a little bit and throw him out of [the bullpen],” Grifol said. “That does not mean that he’s a bullpen guy. It does not mean we’re not going to start him in the future.
"Him not being a starter is not anywhere close to what we’re thinking and anywhere close to what he should be thinking."
It only took one more ugly start for Grifol to officially change his mind. Tonight is Kopech's turn in the rotation, but the White Sox are instead choosing to scrape the bottom of their pitching depth by calling up José Ureña, and Kopech will move to the bullpen the rest of the season.
Ureña had a couple nice years with the Marlins in 2017 and 2018, but he's bounced from one desperate rotation to another over the last several years. He comes into this game 0-4 with a 9.82 ERA, and all that work four months and two organizations ago with the Rockies. The Nationals signed him after Colorado released him, but a 6.31 ERA in Rochester left him stationed in Triple-A until the Nats released him in August.
That's when the Sox came calling, and because he's managed to post a 3.38 ERA over four starts and 21⅓ innings in Charlotte, here he is.
As for Kopech, Grifol said the relegation is only temporary:
“He’s starting next year. You’re not going to read into anything. He’s a starter. He’s going to be a starter. We’re building him to be a starter for next year and that’s how we’re going to approach it “
Grifol isn't my dad, so he can't tell me what to do. There's plenty of reason to read into it, because this isn't the first time Grifol reversed course after a denial. There's also the matter that Grifol only saves his honest, direct assessments for rookies.
Kopech got to lead the league in walks over 26 starts before Grifol issued a consequence, and even then, it was gently delivered. Meanwhile, here's Grifol on Lane Ramsey, who walked the leadoff guy in the eighth inning on Friday after the Sox expanded their lead.
Grifol: “Ramsey, I gotta be honest, I got a little pissed off when he walked the leadoff guy with a 6-0 lead. But he got a double play and got out of there clean.”
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) September 9, 2023
It isn't necessary for a big-league manager to have played in the majors -- Joe Maddon is a prime example -- but Grifol shows why teams prefer some MLB experience. Grifol seems quite comfortable crapping on rookies, but he treads far more lightly around anybody who has a guaranteed contract. Ramsey gets called out for a leadoff walk that doesn't score, but when Aaron Bummer has an outing that raises his ERA from 6.35 to 7.85, Grifol gives him paragraphs of grace:
Here’s Pedro Grifol on Aaron Bummer, who gave up six runs, five of them earned, in the 11th inning of today’s Sox loss in Game 1 of the doubleheader: pic.twitter.com/beQ32G2VWZ
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) July 7, 2023
Grifol can't rip every player after every rough moment and expect to earn respect, because nobody likes that kind of person, and he hasn't accomplished anything in this role. But I also don't think he can command a clubhouse when he acts afraid of half the players in it, and compensates by being publicly tough on the guys who lack status.
Unfortunately, Chris Getz has committed to Grifol for next season because the White Sox regard their audience as a captive one, even if plummeting attendance shows fans can find a way out. The ones who hang around get the treat of watching Grifol attempt to figure out a balance in real time.
A straightforward and sensible appraisal of Kopech's future would be a nice place to start.
If there's a documentable reason to believe Kopech is better as a starter than he's shown -- an injury, for example -- then say so. If he's still the best option to fill a rotation spot in 2024 because the organization lacks alternatives, acknowledge the tenuous nature and set standards. But as long as Grifol lacks the ability to find middle ground between "outright denial" and "post-hoc justification" when explaining his thought process regarding a struggling veteran, everybody's left to fill in the gap themselves, even if Grifol doesn't want you doing that.
