The Red Sox will hire Cubs third base coach Will Venable as their bench coach, per Rob Bradford of WEEI. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com previously reported Venable was the front-runner, while Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports first suggested he was a candidate for the role.
The Red Sox already became familiar with Venable earlier this offseason when they interviewed him to become their next manager. That position ultimately went to Alex Cora, whom the Red Sox rehired after a year-long suspension stemming from a sign-stealing scandal. Previous Red Sox bench coach Jerry Narron lost his spot after last season, which helped pave the way for Venable to claim the role.
A former major league outfielder, the 38-year-old Venable has worked in various jobs for the Cubs since his playing career ended after 2016. He started as a special assistant in their front office before coaching first and third base. Venable has also interviewed for multiple teams’ managerial vacancies over the past couple years.
this guy is certainly in demand
Tony LaRussa got a lead job… good hire but all the interviews etc and can’t land a lead job?
He’s only 38. Thats really young. So he’s got plenty of time to find his way in a managerial role
Plenty of young guys get jobs. Not really a valid excuse. He’s been interviewed so he must be old enough
I am a Padres fan, and it is good to see Venable doing well. I was hoping he could be a manager before he turns 40. Still possible.
Venable went to Princeton, where he also played basketball, so he must be quite intelligent, hard working, and accustomed to being around go-getters.
He wasn’t that good of a player, but due to playing 8 years in SD, and the team’s modest history, he ranks in the top 10 in several offensive categories. Including first place in SB percentage. 80.75%. Minimum of 80 attempts to qualify.
Great guy when he played for the Padres. Smart and a true professional
Truthlemonade, He was a solid role player with part-time to full-time roles for a few years. Your comment wqs likely relative to an average MLB player. Make no mistake, if one plays at the MLB level, they’re a pretty good ballplayer.
Maybe his addition will make the management team a bit more “venerable”for those obsessed with Cora’s past transgressions.
Not always true. We have seen what the marlins mariners and os have put out.
They made it to the majors on bad teams. That does not make them, “not that good.”
It’s a subjective description the OP used. Yet, it’s still an inaccurate description.
I liked him as a Padre player, I thought he played hard and was a gamer. Wishing him a successful manager/coaching career
Based on Cora’s comments the other day, I thought they’d go with someone with more experience.
Yeah they called me but I rejected the call because I was trying to push a comment through on here.
I admire your dedication!
Never heard the phrase “push a comment through” but now I have a new way to say I’m going to take a #2. Thank you!
@wark sorry that you’re so full of
To funny
Maybe they misinterpreted when he said he wanted somebody venerable.
Well, the Yale man (Bloom) hires a Princeton Tiger….gotta get something for being “persuaded” to re=hire Cora.
But it’s a good hire, it seems; not a lot negative said by the Boston media about Will when he was interviewing for the manager’s job. And they would boo a cure for Covid.
I’m a RS fan and I agree bout the Boston press. I’m glad Will is getting a chance, he’ll learn under Cora too n help him out as they tackle the upcoming yr. Will must be liked by Chaim since he was under consideration for manager, so this is a good chance for him n how to deal with the nasty press in Boston. If he can survive in Boston he can survive anywhere including NYC.
The RS press is pure poison. No one is even close. I’m from NY, and the NY press are amateurs slackers in comparison. They will boo any Red Sox accomplishment or move, know very little about BB, and are borderline racist.
But I would say that Pete Abraham is pretty decent, Pete Gammons also, but in a generic way, and Lou Merloni is virtually always right.
The rest are useless.
Agree all around, especially about Gammons (though he’s drifted a bit since, as a young man, I used to buy the Globe just to read his “notes”) and Merloni. Lou is the local version of Billy Ripken; since he was always the 25th man on a 25 man roster, his perspective is quite a bit different than the guys who were stars.
One of my great BB memories was sitting to next to Gammons at a Cape Cod League game; I couldn’t believe how approachable he was (and this was after he had made it “big”) , and what a genuinely nice guy he is. I was with him for mostly all the game, and I kept getting up to leave, not wanting to be a pest. But he kept saying, “No, no, I’m not working, I’m just watching a ballgame”.
And he loves to talk Shop. Sometimes what I do is I’ll talk about their family or their kids because I don’t want to be like everyone else. But gammons loves Talkin Baseball and Red Sox baseball especially.
I can’t believe that Lou doesn’t have a front office job. It’s at the point where I find him annoyingly correct. He will write something negative, which I won’t like. But I know instinctively that he is right, which just makes it even more annoying.
This was the guy I wanted the Royals to go with over Matheny. Great move by Cora and the Red Sox.
The Cubs lose two Ivy Leaguers in one day
I remember seeing his dad play against the Sox when he was with the Angels in 1990 then seeimg Will play with the Padres years later at Dodger Stadium. I think they are the only father/son players i have seen play in person
What does the bench coach even do? What does the 3rd base coach do besides tell a runner to go or not? Why do teams need so many useless coaches? Do they work with the players individually daily? Do they just help out in the clubhouse?
I think that the 1b coach and 3b coach monitor outfield and infield defense between games.
Bench coach is kind of like assistant manager, like the first mate of a ship.
Bench coach is basically the 2nd in command. He also takes over if the manager gets ejected.
As a RS fan, I saw Manny Ramirez run through the 3rd base stop sign 6 times. He was not only safe safe all 6x, but I don’t even remember him having to slide.
Depending on the ball club bench coach picks what brand trashcan to use, and how to get around your manager trying to play a clean game so your guys can cheat.
Now with cora maybe it’s the opposite. Bench coach tries to find a way to play a clean game despite the manager
GA – how is the recount going?
Bench coach is second in command. Think Vice Principal of a high school, depending on the dynamics of the manager and players the bench coach either lays down the law or acts as a buffer between the manager and players.
Third base coaches, besides being the eyes for base runners is typically in charge of working with the third baseman and shortstop and sometimes the outfield on defense. Likewise the first base coach typically works with the first and second basemen on defense.
A good guy to have in the dugout, when they have to fire Cora for being too much of a distraction. Imagine all the boo’s and chants of cheater, every time he goes out to change a pitcher or does anything on the field when they are on the road. How long could the team put up with this?.
Sheer: Good point. I wonder if the Red Sox put a clause in Cora’s contract to enable them to fire him without having to pay the whole contract if he is too much of a distraction.
Will Venable could be a future manager. Maybe not for a few years. I think it will happen.
Venable has had numerous managing interviews the past few years so suggesting he may be a future manager is obvioud
I thought I was implying that he would be. The right situation has to present itself.