White Sox Hire Will Venable As Manager

Oct 31: The White Sox officially announced Venable’s hiring this morning, noting that he has agreed to a multiyear contract with the club. As noted by Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Getz praised his new skipper in a statement alongside the announcement:

“Will is widely recognized as one of the premium managerial candidates within the game, and we are very excited to bring him into our organization as our new manager. He is so well thought of across baseball. Will has built a well-earned and well-deserved reputation as a successful player, front office executive, coach and associate manager. A great communicator, Will is going to build strong relationships, set expectations, build a clubhouse where we hold one another accountable, and ultimately, create a winning mindset among our players and a winning environment in our clubhouse.”

Venable also made a statement as part of the team’s press release:

“This is a great opportunity with a White Sox organization that is putting a lot of good things into place and laying a solid foundation for the future. It’s exciting to be part of that process to help get back to the type of baseball White Sox fans are used to seeing. We want players who show up to work hard every day, but also smart baseball players who understand the nuances of the game. There is a rich tradition here and a fan base that deserves winning baseball, and I am excited to do whatever I can to help.”

Oct 29: The White Sox have reached an agreement to hire Will Venable as manager, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Venable has spent the last two seasons on Bruce Bochy’s staff as the associate manager of the Rangers. Major League Baseball discourages teams from revealing news on days with a playoff game, so the Sox are unlikely to make the hiring official until Thursday.

In any case, it’s a nice birthday present. Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, gets his first big league managerial opportunity. That has seemed like an inevitability. Venable has been regarded as a future manager for years. He’s a Princeton graduate who played in parts of nine major league seasons. The majority of his playing experience came in San Diego, where he was a well-rounded outfielder.

Venable finished his playing days in 2017. It didn’t take long for him to move into the next phase of his career. He joined the Cubs’ front office late in the ’17 campaign. Venable moved into coaching the following year, joining Joe Maddon’s staff as first base coach. Teams were considering him for managerial vacancies within a couple seasons. Venable interviewed for the Cubs job after Maddon departed the organization, while he also sat down with the Giants and Astros.

Chicago ultimately tabbed David Ross. Venable stayed on Ross’ staff for the 2020 season and again found himself in managerial searches. He interviewed with the Tigers and Red Sox, and while neither team hired as manager, Boston added him as bench coach not long after rehiring Alex Cora.

Venable spent two seasons in Boston. While the Red Sox hoped to bring him back for 2023, he departed to take on the associate manager role in Arlington. It proved to be a wise choice, as Venable collected a World Series ring during his first year. He pulled himself out of consideration for managerial openings last offseason, formally declining an interview with the Mets and bypassing a chance to pursue the Guardians opening.

Between his standing as the #2 coach in Texas and his decision not to proceed through the interview process last winter, Venable seemed like the manager-in-waiting in Arlington. Bochy will be back for at least a third season and hasn’t publicly tipped his hand on retirement plans. It’s not clear whether the circumstances in Texas have changed. Venable may simply have felt that he needed another year of experience and is now ready to lead a dugout.

Whatever the reason, he viewed this winter as the right time to look for a managerial opportunity. There have only been three vacancies thus far. The Reds quickly brought Terry Francona out of retirement. That left the White Sox and Marlins. Venable not only interviewed for both positions but emerged as a finalist in each search. The Miami Herald reported on Tuesday that he and Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz were finalists for the Marlins position. There hasn’t been any word out of Miami since Venable took the Sox job, but one can infer that Albernaz is likely to land in South Florida.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Tuesday that Venable, Albernaz and Phil Nevin were the finalists in Chicago. The Sox are also known to have interviewed Texas bench coach Donnie Ecker. Grady Sizemore, who took over as interim manager when the White Sox fired Pedro Grifol in August, also received consideration. Skip Schumaker, A.J. Ellis, Daniel Descalso, Clayton McCullough and George Lombard were among the other reported candidates.

In August, GM Chris Getz indicated the White Sox were looking outside the organization. While Sizemore was in the mix, they’ll indeed go with an external hire. Venable will have his work cut out for him with the White Sox coming off the worst season in modern baseball history. He joins the franchise at a time when owner Jerry Reinsdorf has floated the possibility of a sale. It’s an organization in flux.

It’s a much different situation than Venable would’ve assumed had he pursued and landed a job with the Mets or Cleveland a year ago. Those clubs certainly would’ve provided a clearer path to contention than he’ll find with the White Sox. Venable is familiar with the city after spending three seasons across town, though, and the rebuild should give him time to learn on the job as he works with a roster that won’t be expected to contend in the near future.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.