Chicago White Sox Manager Tony La Russa out Indefinitely, According to Report

Tony La Russa will likely not be with the Chicago White Sox for a while. According to Jessee Rogers of ESPN, the White Sox manager is out indefinitely with an unspecified medical issue. Bench coach Miguel Cairo will be the interim manager while La Russa undergoes further testing. USA Today was the first to report that La Russa will be out indefinitely. 

The White Sox announced that LaRussa would be absent from Tuesday's game against the Kansas City Royals one hour before first pitch. He was seen during the pregame session talking to reporters and White Sox general manager Rick Hahn. Chicago also said that La Russa would undergo medical testing on Wednesday. 

"Yeah, it was weird. We didn't have much of a heads up," White Sox outfielder Gavin Sheets said after Tuesday's game. "Obviously praying for him, praying for a full recovery. At the same time, we go out and do our job and prepare to play a game." Sheets said he found out the news of LaRussa via social media. 

Cairo told reporters he was prepared to step in as manager. "I always manage in the game when I'm not in the game," he said. "I knew the pitchers that we had and I knew the matchups. I always prepare myself before the game starts. We found out today like an hour before the game that I was going to manage. We're going to find out tomorrow what is going on, and, hopefully, he's going to be fine and he's back tomorrow to do his duties. We are going to keep him in our thoughts."

As of Wednesday afternoon, the White Sox are 63-66 on the year and six games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead. They are also 7.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot in the playoffs. La Russa was hired as the White Sox manager last year and led the team to their first division title since 2008. He began his MLB managerial career with the White Sox in 1979 and also was manager of the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. In his career, La Russa won three World Series titles and was named Manager of the Year four times.