The Chicago White Sox fired manager Pedro Grifole even before setting a new MLB record with 121 losses. Grady Sizemore was given a chance to manage for the first time in his career, but his placement in Chicago was always expected to be short-term as the front office saught out a full-time replacement this offseason.
After weeks of interviews and other background work, the White Sox finally have a new manager.
Chicago White Sox hire Will Venable
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Chicago White Sox have hired former MLB outfielder Will Venable as their new manager. The announcement came late Tuesday night, just shortly after the New York Yankees celebrated their first win of the 2024 World Series.
Venable played nine seasons in MLB before closing out his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. He then joined the Chicago Cubs as a special assistant to Theo Epstein in 2017 before becoming a first base coach in 2018. In 2020, he switched jobs, taking over as the third base coach in Chicago.
In 2020, Venable became a bench coach for the Boston Red Sox, where he got to manage for seven games throughout the next two seasons. The Sox went 2-5 in those outings.
Then, in 2022, Venable became the associate manager to Bruce Bochy with the Texas Rangers. Now, he’ll take on a much bigger task as the White Sox clubhouse manager. After a historically bad season, Venable has a lot of work to do to help the White Sox return to relevance, but he’s viewed as a rising star in the coaching industry. We’ll see if he can help provide a much-needed spark in the spring.
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