White Sox even worse than expected, but record-setting season doesn't change vision, assistant GM says

 MINNEAPOLIS – It’s not easy losing every night.

It’s not easy being the worst team in the game.

For players, the manager, coaches and front office, first-year White Sox assistant general manager Josh Barfield included.

“It’s never fun or easy when you go through these things but everybody’s focus is in the right place,” Barfield, who is with the team for this series, told the Sun-Times Saturday. “We’re going to push through it.”

Barfield said someone reminded him of the Diamondbacks’ 17-game losing streak in 2021 when he was Arizona’s farm director.

“Similar feeling,” Barfield said.

And not a good one.

In 2023 two years later, the Diamondbacks went to the World Series. The Sox, on pace to be the worst team ever and in the throes of a franchise record 18-game losing streak entering Saturday’s game against the Twins, seem far, far away from contention in two years. While the front office wasn’t expecting to win this season as it embarked on a rebuild, even Barfield didn’t expect the Sox to be this bad.

“That’s probably fair,” Barfield said. “We knew there would be some challenges with the way everything was constructed, there was a possibility it could be a difficult season. But I don’t think you envision it to this degree. But I don’t think in the long run it changes the plan of how we envision getting this thing turned around.”

That plan includes drafting well, developing home grown players "and capitalizing on opportunities to acquire talented players through free agency and trades," Barfield said.

When said spending and to what degree takes place remains to be seen. Most likely not this coming offseason.

With the season unraveling as it has, general manager Chris Getz has been asked multiple times about manager Pedro Grifol’s performance and declined to give firm votes of confidence, most recently on Tuesday.

Grifol, in his second season, has dealt with injuries and a thin roster, bad bullpen and the worst offense in the game.

“It’s difficult, right?” Barfield said. “Losing like this is challenging, but he’s doing a good job of keeping the focus in the right place. The guys are coming out here and playing hard. This time of year that’s all you can ask for, just come in and compete every day.”

Grifol has remained upbeat through all of it, even as many in the industry expect him to get fired before the end of the season.

“I’m a competitor so I’m not going to tell you I’m going to come out here and get pissed off and compete but I have strong faith, man,” Grifol said. “The good Lord has a plan. And if this is the plan he has for the organization and for me right now then so be it. My job is to come out here and give my very best every day.”

“It’s tough, man. It really is,” first baseman Andrew Vaughn said Saturday. “Nobody likes to lose. It’s gut-wrenching. Losing is the absolute worst. We just have to keep our heads up, keep playing hard every single day. Change your mindset to that day, that you’re going to do everything you can to get better.

“And everybody in here is working hard.”

Grifol is doing what he knows, what he’s been asked to do, which is lead.

No easy task under the circumstances.

“The one thing I know about leadership is, it’s easy to lead when things are going great,” Grifol said Saturday. “True leadership comes when things are not going good, that’s when you have to step up and serve others and help everybody else get better. You can’t show any lack of resiliency or discipline. That’s part of true leadership.

"I’m not going to pout and quit. That’s not who I am.”