GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Look no further than the 2023 White Sox final record of 61-101 as the rude awakening or rock-his-world sort of moment for Pedro Grifol during his first season as a manager.

“Yeah. 101 losses, that will rock anybody’s world, right?” Grifol told the media on Tuesday, one day before his pitchers and catchers officially report to Spring Training. “And how I had to navigate through that.

“Nobody can ever get prepared for that, no matter what job you do or how you do it or how many years you’ve been in the game. First year managing, you lose 101 games, so you learn a lot through that.”

• What to watch around the White Sox this spring

Grifol put that disappointing first season behind him as soon as the last pitch was thrown in a 2-1 loss to the Padres at Guaranteed Rate Field on Oct. 1. He is now working under a new front office guided by general manager Chris Getz, for whom Grifol once served as a hitting coach when the two were with the Royals, and Grifol believes his managing will be different in 2024 based on the different brand of baseball his team will play.

It should be a more cohesive unit, playing better defense, which was an offseason priority for Getz. It also will be a quicker-paced White Sox.

"We were a conservative club last year. We didn't take many risks,” Grifol said. “We weren't taking extra bases, we didn't steal bases. I'm not looking to see that style of baseball this year.

“You'll see some of that here in the spring, you'll see the differences here in the spring. That'll change your managing style, just because guys are going to be doing more. They're going to be more aggressive, they're going to be a little more fearless. That's what I'm asking these guys to go out there and do."

La Russa in camp

Tony La Russa was at Camelback Ranch on Tuesday and he has been a part of the offseason preparation in an advisor’s role.

“He’s been great. I actually push him every day to give me more,” Grifol said. “He’s got a wealth of knowledge and it’s not just knowledge. He’s got a story for everything. He has been around the game that long where he can give some wisdom and share a story too, behind the wisdom.

“So it’s not just giving me knowledge, he is an example. He’s been unbelievable for me. I’m looking forward to spending some good time with him.”

La Russa managed the White Sox from 1979-86 and again from 2021 into 2022, before leaving the post due to health concerns. He has guided clubs to three World Series titles, six pennants and 2,884 victories over his 35 seasons in the dugout.

Closing time

The White Sox are a team without a set closer, but Grifol felt as if it’s too early to talk about filling that responsibility.

“We feel like we have some guys capable of doing that, but it's way too early,” Grifol said. “It's a good problem to be sitting here a day before we start talking about two, three, four guys who we feel can pitch in high-leverage [situations], that can bring some noise at the end of the game the way we want them.”

Catching on

Garrett Crochet, who is making the move from the bullpen to the rotation, sees the benefits of working with veteran catchers Martín Maldonado and Max Stassi.

“Not even the reputations they’ve had as good catchers and good game callers, but the staffs they have caught in the past,” Crochet said. “A lot of good arms they themselves were able to learn from and coach up along the way. A lot of our guys look forward to working with them and experience similar benefits.”