The White Sox will have another new coach in the dugout next season. During Tuesday’s episode of Foul Territory White Sox manager Will Venable announced that he would be bringing in Walker McKinven as the team’s bench coach. McKinven previously served as the Brewers run prevention coordinator.
McKinven will replace interim bench coach Doug Sission. The 35-year-old Chicagoland native has spent the last nine seasons in the Brewers organization serving in a variety of roles. He first joined the organization as a video scout then worked his way through a variety of coaching titles including Major League Strategy, Associate Pitching, Catching and Strategy coach, and Run Prevention Coordinator.
Attention to detail is something the White Sox have been lacking at the major league level in recent years. It’s something that Venable is hoping to clean up with the help of McKinven. He got his start in coaching by doing minor league video work for the Cubs organization. Almost every role he has had has been heavily involved with pregame preparation and scouting. Last season the Brewers had the third most defensive runs prevented at 27, while McKinven was the run prevention coordinator. Meanwhile, the White Sox ranked 29th with -34 runs prevented.
The hire is the latest in a handful of sweeping changes the White Sox have made to their coaching staff after firing manager Pedro Grifol, bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez, and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar last season.
Grady Sizemore took the reigns as interim manager for the team’s final 45 games going 13-32. Venable has already stated that he will remain on the coaching staff in some capacity. We now know that it won’t be as bench coach.
According to MLB.com’s Adam MCCalvy, McKinven marks a significant loss for the Brewers. He had a role in the team’s daily game planning and has his fingerprints all over the organization’s successful track record of developing catchers. You don’t have to go far to find an example of this. All-Star catcher William Contreras had -11 Defensive Runs Saved in Atlanta. Two years after being traded to the Brewers he has posted a +11 DRS.
Considering the White Sox No. 4 ranked prospect, Edgar Quero, is a catcher, McKinven is a huge addition to Venable’s staff.
