Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa will rejoin the Chicago White Sox as a consultant after stepping away from his managing duties last season for health reasons. His return coincides with a massive shakeup within the organization, as owner Jerry Reinsdorf looks for a new general manager and other front office executives.

Reinsdorf surprised many around MLB Tuesday when he abruptly fired general manager Rick Hahn and Executive Vice President Kenny Williams. Both had been with the White Sox since the early 2000s, with Hahn taking over for Williams as general manager in 2012, but the owner expressed a desire for new leadership as the team struggles through another mediocre season.

“Ultimately, the well-worn cliché that professional sports is results-oriented is correct,” Reinsdorf said in a statement. “While we have enjoyed successes as an organization and were optimistic heading into the competitive window of this rebuild, this year has proven to be very disappointing for us all on many levels. This has led me to the conclusion that the best decision for the organization moving forward is to make a change in our baseball department leadership.”

Assistant general manager Chris Getz is reportedly expected to replace Hahn as the organization’s de facto decision maker in the front office. But with La Russa returning in an outside role, having already scouted the team’s farm system as part of his return, questions about the manager position linger. Rookie manager Pedro Grifol seems to have the position for now, but he also met with Reinsdorf and La Russa to discuss Chicago’s future Wednesday night.

Despite entering the season with reasonably high expectations, the White Sox currently hold a 50-77 record and are fourth in the Al Central, the weakest division in baseball. They are almost certain to regress on their 81-81 season in 2022 at a time when they were expected to improve as young talented players continue to develop.

The Chicago White Sox organization has pushed back against claims made by pitcher Keynan Middleton that the team runs with “no rules.” Middleton was recently traded to the Yankees and accused Chicago of being disorganized after pitching two innings against the Astros Sunday.

“We came in with no rules,” Middleton said. “I don’t know how you police the culture if there are no rules or guidelines to follow because everyone is doing their own thing. Like, how do you say anything about it because there are no rules? You have rookies sleeping in the bullpen during the game. You have guys missing meetings. You have guys missing PFPs (pitcher fielding practices), and there are no consequences for any of this stuff.”

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn swiftly pushed back against Middleton’s comments Monday. Despite multiple sources corroborating many of Middleton’s claims, Hahn said that specific accounts concerning the team’s dysfunction were inaccurate.

“I was surprised to see the report this morning,” Hahn said. “At no point during the course of the year had there been a reliever sleeping in the bullpen during that game. That’s just wrong.”

Hahn went on to say that disciplinary actions for players were taken but kept private, as is typical of many MLB clubhouses. The general manager then accused Middleton of misconduct before leaving for New York.

“Quite frankly, it’s a little bit ironic that Keynan’s the one saying this, because my last conversation with him face-to-face was a week ago in the clubhouse where he sought me out to apologize for his unprofessional behavior Pedro (Grifol) had called him out on,” Hahn said. “At the time I figured that was a one-off.”

Manager Pedro Grifol, who Hahn referenced in his comments about Middleton, also addressed the pitcher’s claims Monday. While he did not deny anything that Middleton said, he took a more positive stance on the team’s culture since he arrived in the off-season.

“I’ve been talking about culture here since day one and brought it up again about three or four weeks ago,” Grifol said. “I feel like we’re not even close to where we need to be, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

The White Sox currently have a 46-68 record and will likely miss the playoffs for the second straight season. The team made the postseason in 2020 and 2021 but only managed to go 81-81 for former manager Tony La Russa last year before his departure.

After earning a rare save for the Chicago White Sox in a 6-4 win Wednesday, relief pitcher Keynan Middleton had some choices words for Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, who he struck out to end the game.

“I knew I was going to face Correa, and I don’t like him. So it was kind of cool,” Middleton told reporters. “I like that. I enjoyed that a lot. … I mean, he’s a cheater.”

Middleton has not earned a save since his days as a Seattle Mariner in 2021, but has maintained a lengthy career in the major leagues dating back to 2017. Like many MLB players, he clearly still holds ill will toward members of the 2017 Houston Astros, who won the World Series before getting exposed for a sign-stealing scandal which allegedly improved their performance at home games dramatically.

Correa was never identified as a key member of the sign stealing scheme, as all Astros players were granted immunity as part of MLB’s investigation. Nevertheless, he was a very prominent player on the team who benefitted from advance knowledge of the pitches being thrown. Opponents in subsequent seasons have found numerous ways to retaliate against 2017 Astros players, but Middleton’s approach was more direct and resulted in a run for the White Sox.

After losing 10 straight games between April 19 and April 29, the team has now won three straight in games against the Rays and Twins. Middleton pitched in back-to-back games on May 2 and 3, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings combined and helping the team win close games against Minnesota.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said that he didn’t hesitate to give Middleton the save opportunity on no days’ rest. The reliever has gotten more chances late in games recently as Liam Hendriks completes his cancer recovery while Reynaldo Lopez recovers from a minor setback.

“This guy is a gamer,” Grifol said after the game. “He’s been through it before and I felt comfortable with him in that situation.”