Former Cleveland great Grady Sizemore to join Chicago White Sox staff

An old Cleveland friend will be joining an AL Central rival next season. Grady Sizemore, still one of the most exciting Indians/Guardians players of the 21st century, will be joining the Chicago White Sox in 2024 as the team's outfield and baserunning coach.

Since his playing days ended in 2015, Sizemore has begun to dabble in coaching, returning to Cleveland in 2017 as an advisor to the player development staff. Most recently, Sizemore was with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, working with minor-league outfielders. This will be the first time Sizemore will be back in the dugout, though, since his playing career ended.

Sizemore was once one of the most exciting players in baseball, with a promising, Hall of Fame-esque career cut short by injuries. In his eight seasons with Cleveland, Sizemore hit .269/.357/.473 with a 120 OPS+. He also had a truly magical stretch from 2005 to 2008 (starting when he was just 22 years old) in which he got four consecutive seasons of MVP votes, three All-Star selections, two Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger.

In those years, Sizemore hit .281/.372/.496 with a 128 OPS+, slugging 107 home runs and 163 doubles while stealing 115 bases. He also hit 53 doubles in 2006, the best mark in baseball.

Sigh... the good old days. If it wasn't for the injuries, Sizemore was clearly on a path that would have led him to Cooperstown.

But still, it's always a good time to talk about Grady Sizemore and remind people just how good he was for the Indians, even if it comes as part of a story about him joining a division rival.