Former White Sox reliever Keynan Middleton blasts team's 'no rules' culture, per report
The Chicago White Sox's precipitous fall from 2021 AL Central Division champions to floundering 2023 trade deadline sellers is a direct result of the team's "no rules" culture, former reliever Keynan Middleton said Sunday.
Middleton, who signed with the White Sox this past offseason and was recently traded to the New York Yankees, said he was told the clubhouse issues go back to last year under then-manager Tony La Russa and have continued under rookie manager Pedro Grifol.
"We came in with no rules," Middleton said Sunday, according to ESPN. "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."
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Middleton said the White Sox had "rookies sleeping in the bullpen during the game," as well as players missing meetings and not taking part in drills without having to face any consequences for their actions.
White Sox management on Monday refuted claims by Middleton.
Before Monday's 5-1 win against the Yankees in Chicago, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn and Grifol said Middleton's statements were inaccurate. But both admitted their disappointing team had faced its share of internal issues, centering around building a winning culture.
"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."
Hahn emphasized that no reliever had been dozing in the bullpen, while adding the White Sox have a position player with a serious sleep disorder who is permitted to take naps in the clubhouse per medical direction.
"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."
Middleton said the season got off to a bad start under Grifol when veteran pitchers Lance Lynn and Kendall Graveman left the team to play in the World Baseball Classic.
"If you're trying to create culture, you need your big dogs," Middleton said. "The guys who played in the WBC were our big dogs, and those are the guys I feel like can police the things that are happening."
In addition to dealing Middleton to the Yankees, the White Sox also sent Lynn to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Graveman to the Houston Astros at the trade deadline.
Lynn was asked about Middleton's comments before the Dodgers were set to conclude a series in San Diego on Monday. "I was there a lot longer than Key was. He’s not wrong," Lynn said according to the Los Angeles Times.
As for the new-look White Sox, Middleton said the issue with a lack of leadership still remains.
"I feel like some guys don't want to speak up when they should have," he said. "It's hard to police people when there are no rules."
The veteran reliever could come face-to-face with his former teammates as soon as Monday night, when the Yankees begin a three game series against the White Sox in Chicago.
Contributing: AP
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Keynan Middleton blames White Sox's struggles on 'no rules' culture
