As the White Sox were on pace to be the worst team in major league history, it was only a time before they fired Pedro Grifol. In doing so, Chris Getz started the process of making the White Sox his team, as he was not the general manager when Grifol was hired.
Since the firing of Pedro Grifol, Chris Getz and the White Sox have fired a ton of people who are involved in player evaluation, as they have essentially cleared house in the scouting department. They revamped their international scouting and their regional scouting, as they fired many of their scouts. They also have made many changes to their analytics department, signaling a new era of the White Sox under Chris Getz.
Now, the next step is hiring the right manager for the job, and it appears the White Sox are close to doing so. They have begun the process of eliminating candidates, and now there are just a few names left.
According to Ryan McGuffey, after the recent string of eliminations, there seem to be at least three left in consideration for the job. Will Venable, George Lombard, and Phil Nevin.
It also appears that Grady Sizemore still has a horse in the race, as there has been no information to show that he has been eliminated from keeping the job.
Will Venable may be the best candidate left, and if he wants the job, the White Sox should give him the job, as he has put together a very nice resume. It seems like the White Sox feel the same way, as Jon Herman reports that they are very interested in Venable.
As Heyman notes, there is no expectation that, if offered, Venable would take the job. Venable has built a good reputation around the league, so he may be waiting for the perfect opportunity. Let’s take a look in to Venable’s resume:
Most of you may be familiar with Venable from his time as a major leaguer, as he spent nine years in the major leagues as an outfielder for three teams, mainly for the San Diego Padres. Venable was a solid player and put together a nice career.
After his playing career ended in 2016, he would go on to take position in the Chicago Cubs front office.
At the time, Venable would have been working closely with Theo Epstein, so he likely gained plenty of knowledge on how to build a winning baseball team. In 2018, he would shift into an on the field role for the Cubs, as he served as the first and third base coach until 2020, when he would be hired away to the Boston Red Sox.
Venable would be the bench coach for Alex Cora, another World Series winning manager. He would stick in this role until 2022, when the Texas Rangers and Bruce Bochy would hire him on as the associate manager.
He would go on to win a World Series with the Rangers last year and he remained in the same role this past season.
While he doesn’t have any prior full time managing experience, Venable has had some valuable experiences working with some of the best minds in baseball since his retirement.
There are reports that Venable turned down a chance at the New York Mets job this past offseason, so he may not have an interest in coming to the White Sox. However, the White Sox should do what they can to bring him in as the manger. Perhaps Venable will like the idea that he will have a long leash as manager, as the White Sox aren’t typically quick to fire people.
At this point, I hope they can strike a deal with Venable. If not, Sizemore might be the next best choice, as he showed promise as a manager to end the season.
