Red Sox bench coach/outfield instructor Will Venable is one of the candidates to be the Royals’ new manager, according to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Venable is a new addition to a field known to include several internal candidates (K.C. bench coach Pedro Grifol, third base coach Vance Wilson and Triple-A manager Scott Thorman) as well as Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough.
It is possible other names are still under consideration, though it does seem like the Royals might be nearing the final stages of their search, as Heyman writes that “Quatraro has been seen as the favorite” and past reports have suggested McCullough as a finalist. Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan also interviewed with the Royals but is now out of the running after signing a contract extension to remain in Philadelphia.
Venable (who celebrates his 40th birthday today) is known by most fans for his nine-year playing career, which saw him suit up for eight seasons with the Padres and brief stints with the Rangers and Dodgers from 2008-16. Moving almost directly into a new role as a coach, Venable was on the Cubs’ staff from 2018-20 as a first base and third base coach, and then took his current role as Alex Cora’s right-hand man prior to the 2021 season.
With more teams frequently looking to hire younger managers only recently removed from their playing days, Venable has been a popular interview candidate for the last few cycles’ worth of managerial searches. The Athletics, Giants, Astros, and Tigers all spoke with Venable in regards to recent openings in the dugout, and the Red Sox themselves interviewed Venable for the manager’s job before re-hiring Cora, though the Sox were obviously still impressed enough to bring Venable on board as bench coach.
Of the six known candidates in the Royals’ search, none have previously worked as a Major League manager on anything more than a fill-in basis. (For instance, Venable served as Boston’s manager for a few games earlier this season when Cora was sidelined with COVID-19.) Barring any other experienced skippers surfacing in the search, it would appear as though new Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo is favoring a first-time manager as the replacement for Mike Matheny.
Please take him
Dude is smart. Been around pro ball since childhood. WV for manager!
I don’t think he won a single game when Cora was out. Not his fault but still
Interesting
I predict he will make a really good manager. He is a great baseball mind, he always has been
Vegas – I totally agree, in fact most of us would rather keep Venable and get rid of Cora.
Being considered for a managerial job on his 40th birthday is one type of birthday present!
By house has been set on fire. I’m posting this from the street
I have marshmallows, be there in 5
I have chocolate be there in 10
I guess I’ll have to bring the Graham crackers then.
Not real sure why anyone responds to this guy. He delivers nonsense and people respond to it
But he offers free delivery, which is hard to find these days.
The fact that you’re on this site when your house is on fire is asinine.
Please hire him. I’ll even help him move if it keeps him as far away from the Red Sox bench as possible
Why don’t you like him Rsox? He seemed intelligent when with the Cubs…
Poor pen management when he filled in for Cora. Sox lost a couple winnable games during that time
I went to one of those games. Rays no-hit the Sox through 9, then got to go ahead run in the 10th. Venable went to Robles for the save and he blew it.
Guys – Please! Do you seriously think Venable was making those decisions and not Cora?
When my manager had to quarantine, do you think I stood up in the office and shouted “I’m in charge now!” while ignoring the communications from my boss?
Cora CONSTANTLY went to Robles in high leverage situations … and yet you think Venable made the exact same decision on his own?
I suppose you also think when managers are ejected, they don’t continue to relay instructions to the bench.
Interesting… ‘pen management seems to be the most common managerial complaint (Boone, Cora, Roberts, Venable, etc). I wonder, given all the complaints about it, if it simply boils down to the analytics (See: Boone’s terrible decision to put in Trivino w/ bases loaded for the “bottom of the lineup”).
It seems, with the prevalence of analytics, that most managers don’t stray from analytical matchups because it’s easier and safer (for their job) if they do what the computer tells them. Then there’s nothing they can be held accountable for….
@Clipper, bullpen construction and management is considered one of the most crucial aspects in building winning teams today, and the Yankees have been very good at this. As annoyed as I am with their offense construction, I give them high marks for their pitching, particularly the bullpen. They seemingly can either trade for some unheralded arm who then becomes better (Peralta, Holmes, etc.) or have a few arms stacked down through the minors that generate a lot of swing and misses. Their pen was decimated by injuries as the season progressed, but they kept it patched together. Green goes down, in steps King. King goes down, in steps Marinaccio, etc.
The issue is not in identifying the arms, it’s the deployment. Fans want Boone fired, but the Yankees keep him. I think the reason why is they know he’s not the problem. He’s deploying the pen as the analytics side wants him to. Maybe fans shouldn’t be yelling to fire Boone; maybe they should be yelling to fire Michael Fishman! They’re giving that much control to the analytics side, a group of people who have never played a game and can hide in darkness, That’s a bit of a problem.
For all we know, Boone might be good at managing a pen, if he was allowed to manage the pen. Seems to me some unnamed group or people are calling the shots.
Rob, I couldn’t agree with you more on those points. As Michael Kay said, if they keep Boone/Cashman, which they are, the question from Hal should be: Why are the Astros “crapshoot proof” with their analytics, but we are not?
He’s right. The reason Boone follows analytics to the T is because his job is safe by doing so. As long as he follows their model, and vehemently defends that decision/player at all costs to the media, he has a job. They’ve proven as much by talking about how great he is.
As I’ve said, I don’t hold Boone at fault for anything from this point forward because it’s clear he is operating/managing *exactly* how the Yankees want him to manage – analytics. From this point out, I’m upset at Hal, Cashman, & the analytics group, in that order.
Hal is supposed to set the standards and is responsible for ensuring they are met. Cashman constructs the roster, hires the analytics people, and manages them. Boone is simply the face to answer for when things go wrong. He’s a buffoon who doesn’t hold players accountable, but it’s obvious that’s what the Yankees look for.
So, they’ve collectively turned on the fans and start blaming us for having expectations that are too high – well, too bad. Fix this subpar team. Then, Hal insults our intelligence by claiming these seasons are a failure – Cashman has only achieved success ONCE in the past 22 seasons. I’ll even give him twice because he made it to the WS, but lost. Regardless 2/22 when we have as many tanking teams as we do is wholly unacceptable.
YC, My own quick analysis, which I posted in another thread, is the Yankees offense needs more balance. Both lefty/righty balance, and some more contact. Cleveland has developed hitters and a lineup with increased contact, but not enough pop. The Yankees have the pop, but not enough contact. The Astros have found the correct balance. Kudos to them. The Yankees need to adjust. The problem isn’t Judge/Stanton, it’s what they build around them.
The Yankees used to grind up bullpens by being patient, walking, driving up starter pitcher counts, and then destroying the pens. Can’t do that today as easily, certainly not against good teams. The way to grind down pens today is through increased contact rates, which in turn will help the power hitters. They also can’t center their offense around just three or four hitters. I believe four positions — catcher, LF, SS and 3B all had below-average (100 wRC+) production. CF was no doubt above average simply because of Judge, but when he played CF, that weakened RF. Too many offensive holes. Assuming Judge returns (I think he will, but no guarantee), and a full year of Bader, that means they need to fix LF, 3B and SS. (I’ll pass on catcher here, which is more complex). They can do it. Will they?
@Yankee Clipper and RobM, I and others have mentioned this story before. In fact, Rob, we may have had this conversation. Michael Kay was interviewing Cashman a year or so back, and Kay asked Cashman a fan’s question. Fans believe that Boone can’t overrule the front office and the analytics team. Cashman appeared slightly uncomfortable but responded that Boone could. Then paused, adding, but he better be right.
Wow. I was surprised that response didn’t end up all over the sports media. Cashman confirmed with that simple response that Boone doesn’t have control of the lineup or pen. No way you overrule Cashman’s analytics team if you want to keep your job. That’s why Hal and Cashman haven’t replaced him. He’s doing what they want.
Will Venable? or not…?
How about Yankees trade Boone and Cashman to the Royals? They could at least get a single-A prospect in return.
Not sure how Boone and Cashman would like eating Hamburger Helper, when they are used to surf and turf. However, I’d take that deal any day as a Royals fan.
Now hiring: need a captain on a new boat named Titanic…..
Royals adding names to the search at the last second why? Pretty sure Quataro is getting the job. JJ wants to distance himself from the DM regime with this pick
What was his record as a fill-in manager?
Was there any fried chicken and beer in the bullpen?
Asking for a friend…..
Princeton guy. Always liked in San Diego.
News alert… White guy gets mlb manager position.
Oh, here we go with Mr. Race Baiter again
Melchez17: Out of 30 MLB managerial positions, how many of them belong to caucasian (aka “normal” white guy) compared to other ancestral nationalities including Puerto Rican, Hispanic, “African” American & mixed races?
Is Will Venable, son of Max Venable, white? You’ll have to enlighten us, melchez.
He would be a good choice. He would be a great replacement for Cora too.