The Chicago White Sox have hired Texas Rangers coach Will Venable as their new manager, according to multiple reports Tuesday. Scott Merkin of MLB.com was first to report the hire.
Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, played nine big league seasons (2008-16) and was the associate manager to Bruce Bochy with the Texas Rangers.
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Rangers bench coach Donnie Ecker was also under consideration for the job, as were Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough and bench coach Danny Lehmann, Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis, Tigers bench coach George Lombard, former Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore, former Angels manager Phil Nevin, and St. Louis Cardinals coach Daniel Descalso.
Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/Getty Images
Venable inherits a messy situation on Chicago’s South Side.
The White Sox set a modern-era record with 121 losses in 2024. They fired manager Pedro Grifol at midseason, replaced him with Sizemore on an interim basis, and traded many of their best players at the deadline.
The team projects to carry a payroll of less than $70 million in 2025, and is not expected to spend in free agency to fill the gaps apparent on their uncompetitive roster. That was true even before owner Jerry Reinsdorf began exploring a sale of the team.
Teams that are for sale have historically lowered expenses during that process. It’s possible Reinsdorf limited his search to mostly first-time candidates if only to save money.
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The American League Central sent three teams — the Tigers, Cleveland Guardians, and Kansas City Royals — to the postseason in 2024. All three clubs could conceivably improve next year, which is bad news for the White Sox.
The good news? Venable has a lower bar for success to clear than perhaps any manager in history.
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In 2017, Venable was hired by the Chicago Cubs as a special assistant to President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer. In 2018 he was appointed the team’s first-base coach and in 2020 he moved to the third base coaching box.
The Boston Red Sox hired Venable as their bench coach in 2021 and he stayed in that role through the 2022 season. In 2023, he was chosen to serve as the associate manager to Bochy, winning a World Series title during his first year in Arlington.
As a player, Venable hit .249 with a .315 on-base percentage and .404 slugging percentage in 967 major league games with the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Venable becomes the second active manager of African-American descent in MLB, joining Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.
