One of the wildest news days in recent memory for the White Sox somehow continues to get worse.
According to Shane Riordan of 670 The Score, shortstop Tim Anderson and catcher Yasmani Grandal were involved in a physical altercation right before the All-Star Break. Riordan shared an update on the story and went live on the radio station’s Parkins & Spiegel Show on Monday afternoon.
Based on the report, Grandal was not in the lineup the day before the All-Star break and wanted to leave early due to the frustration of not playing. Trainers and staff members said he couldn’t do that unless he cleared it with manager Pedro Grifol and the coaching staff. Anderson apparently caught wind of this and then said something along the lines of, “F*** him. If he doesn’t want to be here, I’ll pay for his flight.” Grandal then walked over to Anderson in the tub and slapped the shortstop across the face, they fought and had to be separated.
Grandal met with the media on Monday afternoon ahead of the team’s series opener vs. the Yankees and was asked about the incident. CHGO’s Vinnie Duber reports that he said, “this is unreal,” while denying reports of slapping Anderson.
If this ends up being true, it becomes the latest example of the alleged dysfunction that has been going on within the White Sox clubhouse. We have already heard from Kenyan Middleton in a late Sunday night interview that there are “no rules or guidelines to follow” in the White Sox clubhouse. Jesse Rogers from ESPN additionally reported on other issues with the White Sox on ESPN’s Kap & J. Hood Show and even dropped specific names.
“… It’s the ones you know. Grandal is no friend to the pitchers. Moncada is no hard worker who is there for his team or teammates… Eloy is happy-go-lucky but isn’t a hard worker, at least according to the people I’m talking to…”
– Jesse Rogers (via Kap & J. Hood on ESPN)
At this point, we expect to hear some sort of statement from Rick Hahn about all of the chaos that is currently going on inside White Sox facilities. This adds to the already disastrous on-field problems the Sox have faced this season. We will wait to see what happens in the coming days and will keep you posted with updates.
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