The White Sox have reportedly shortened its list of managerial candidates. Rangers bench coach Donnie Ecker was one of the names connected to the job after a report surfaced that the Rangers had given the White Sox permission to interview Ecker for their managerial job. However, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Ecker is no longer involved in the White Sox managerial search.
Ecker will likely return to the Texas Rangers for his fourth season as bench coach and offensive coordinator. He earned a World Series ring with the team in 2023 after the Rangers offense led the AL runs scored, hits, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and home runs that season.
Before taking a job as the Rangers bench coach, Ecker spent two seasons as the hitting coach for the San Fransisco Giants. He was named Baseball America’s 2021 Coach of the Year for his work as a hitting coach with the San Fransico Giants. During his 2021 season as hitting coach, the Giants won 107 games en route to the NL West title despite having a roster that was outgunned on paper. Ecker helped spark big years out of several veteran players including 34-year-old Buster Posey, 33-year-old Brandon Belt, 34-year-old Brandon Crawford, and 35-year-old Evan Longoria.
His time in San Fransisco gives him some connections to White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz and Senior Advisor to pitching Brian Bannister, who each spent time in the Giants organization. James Fegan of SoxMachine that Eckes also had a strong interview with the team which makes the news he is no longer in contention a bit surprising.
Other managerial candidates still linked to the job include Clayton McCullough, Danny Lehmann, Skip Schumaker, and Phil Nevin.
