After a wasted 2022 season, the Chicago White Sox’s contention window just got a little bit smaller. Now it’s crunch time for the White Sox front office, and one of their top offseason priorities is filling the vacancy at Manager. 

After making the curious decision to bring Tony La Russa out of retirement, Rick Hahn and company can’t afford another botched experiment. They need a proven commodity. Hahn spoke about what he is looking for in a manager during his end of the season press conference. 

 “I think, ideally, in the end, the right candidate is someone who has recent experience in the dugout with an organization that has contended for championships,” Hahn said. “Ideally, it’s someone who is an excellent communicator; is someone who understands the way the game has grown and evolved in the last decade or so.”

MLB insider Bob Nightengale shed some light on the White Sox candidate search during a column in USA Today. He reiterated Hahn’s point that the White Sox want to hire a veteran manager, not wanting to take a chance on someone without experience. The three names he reported as the leading candidates are Bruce Bochy, Ron Washington, and Mike Shildt. 

Jon Heyman reported that the White Sox conducted an interview in person with Astros third base coach Joe Espada. Espada also interviewed for the Miami Marlins job on Wednesday. 

 Here is how each of their resumes stacks up. 

Bruce Bochy

Resume:

• 25 years of managerial experience
• 2003-2029 record (.497)
• Three World Series
• Four National League Pennants 
• 1996 Manager of the Year
• Former MLB Player (catcher)

Bruce Bochy has been the most popular name thrown around amongst White Sox fans. According to multiple betting sites, he also had the highest odds of being hired by the White Sox. 

Bochy checks all of the boxes. He provides experience, has a great track record, and gives a fresh perspective from outside the organization. His resume speaks for itself. 

He won three World Series Titles in San Fransico in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Before taking the Giant’s job, he had a successful stint as the Manager of the San Diego Padres, winning the National League Pennant in 1998 before falling just short of World Series. 

He is managing for France during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. However, Bochy has not shown any interest in returning to the MLB, so it is fair to question if his heart is still in it. The difficulty here will be prying him out of retirement. 

The deal would have to be pretty sweet to lure him into the White Sox dugout. 

Joe Espada

Resume:

• Bench Coach Astros 2018-current 
• New York Yankees Third Base Coach 2015-2017
• Miami Marlins Third Base Coach 2010-2013
• Played in the minor leagues 

Espada is the hottest commodity on this list. His history with the Marlins makes them the favorite to land his services. The Astros bench coach has been a managerial candidate for the past several seasons. After the 2018 season, he interviewed for the Texas Rangers job. Espada then interviewed for the Chicago Cubs’ position the following offseason. Last offseason, he was interviewed to fill the New York Mets and Oakland A’s manager vacancies. It looks like he will finally get a shot to lead a team in 2023. 

Astros bench coach Joe Espada will also interview for manager with White Sox today. Split doubleheader of sorts for hot manager candidate, who has Marlins interview today, too.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 12, 2022

He joined the Astros during the 2018 offseason to replace Alex Cora as the bench coach. The 47-year-old managed the club for a brief stint while Dusty Baker was away from the team due to COVID-19 protocols. 

Espada, a native of Puerto Rico, is the youngest manager candidate on the list. His ability to speak Spanish and connect with Latin American players is also a plus. While he has been coaching for a long time, he lacks the managing experience that the other candidates have. The White Sox would represent his first job as a big-league manager if hired. However, he understands how the game has evolved over the past decade. 

Espada seems well-respected across the league, which could compensate for his lack of experience. He came up as a coach in the Marlins organization, serving as the hitting coach at Class A Greensboro in 2006 and Class A Jupiter in 2007. He later served as Miami’s third-base coach from 2010-2013 before taking a job with the Yankees as special assistant to general manager Brian Cashman. He was named the Yankee’s third-base coach before the 2015 season.

He doesn’t check all the boxes Hahn highlighted during his press conference, so ultimately, it will come down to what the front office values more. Someone who can relate to today’s player and understands the modern game? Or someone with experience? 

Mike Shildt 

Resume

• Manager of the Year 2019
• 451-252 record (.559)
• San Diego Padres Player Development/Interim Third Base Coach 

Shildt broke into the Cardinals organization in 2003 as a scout and worked his way through the ranks until he got a job as the manager of the Cardinals rookie ball team in Johnson City. He managed there for three seasons and never had a losing season before getting moved up to manage Double-A Springfield in 2012. From 2015-2016 he managed in Triple-A Memphis before finally getting promoted to the Cardinal’s big league staff. 

He finally got a shot to be the interim manager in 2018. Cardinals brass was impressed with his body of work that season, so they handed him the keys during the offseason. Shildt proceeded to lead the Cardinals to three straight playoff berths. During his four seasons at the helm, he compiled a 252-199 record. During his four seasons as manager, he never had a losing record. 

His most impressive accomplishment was when he helped bring the Cardinals back from the dead with a franchise-record 17-game win streak that propelled the Cardinals into the playoffs in 2021. 

Despite his success, he was given the axe after the year for what the front office called “philosophical differences.” While he lacks the experience that Bochy and Washington have, he has proven that he can win games in the major leagues. 

He is also just 54 years old. The White Sox would have to determine what the “philosophical differences” were that got him removed from St. Louis. Given his winning record, it is also fair to wonder how he will connect to some of the players on the roster if the Cardinals went as far as to fire him. 

Ron Washington

Resume: 

• Eight years of managerial experience 
• 664-611 record 
• Two American League Pennants 
• 2021 World Series Champion (as third base coach)
• Played seven different positions over 10 years in the MLB 

The White Sox reached out to Ron Washington for an interview. However, MLB insider Jon Heyman said that the White Sox going with Washington would shock him during an appearance on 670 The Score. Washington comes with a mixed bag. One of the positives is his experience. 

The White Sox are interviewing Astros bench coach Joe Espada in person today in Houston. They've also reached out to Braves third base coach Ron Washington, among others. @JonHeyman first tweeted Sox/Espada interview today.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) October 12, 2022

He managed the Texas Rangers for eight years and led them to two consecutive American League pennants in 2010 and 2011. However, he could not get his team over the hump during each World Series, including a heartbreaking series loss in seven games at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. 

During his eight years in Texas, he posted an above .500 record with a 664-611 record. From 2010-2013 he won 90-plus games. However, his tenure ended in 2014 after 119 games when rumors surfaced that he had cheated on his wife. He admitted to the acquisitions and resigned. 

He joined the Atlanta Braves in 2016 and has served as their third base coach ever since. In 2021 he collected his first World Series ring. Washington’s work ethic has been well documented. Jon Heyman even credited him with helping turn Dansby Swanson into an elite defensive shortstop. 

However, he is now 70 years old. Hiring him feels like adding a less accomplished Tony La Russa. The difference between the two is that Washington has remained in the dugout as a coach between managerial stints. By all accounts, he is a good communicator. But coaching third base and managing a team present two different stress levels. As we saw with Tony La Russa, the grind of a 162-game season can take its toll, especially when you’re north of 70. After just losing a manager due to health reasons, hiring another older manager would be a bad look optically.