The Chicago White Sox are hoping that they found the right man to lead the franchise in the right direction. According to MLB.com, Chicago is set to hire Will Venable to be its next manager.
Venable has been a coach since 2018. Before his coaching career got underway, Venable enjoyed a nine-year stint as a player. A 7th Round pick out of Princeton, Venable spent the first seven and a half years of his career with the team that drafted him — the San Diego Padres. While never a star, Venable became an everyday player over his final five seasons with the Padres. To finish his playing career, Venable made brief cameos with the Rangers (37 games in 2015) and Dodgers (12 games in 2016).
Venable retired with 81 home runs, a .249 BA, 707 hits, and 135 stolen bases. A year after hanging up his cleats, Venable joined the Chicago Cubs as a special assistant. Venable remained with the organization for three more years as he served as a base coach from 2018 to 2020.
Venable’s coaching career progressed in 2021 when he became the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox. His time in Boston was brief, however, as he opted to join the Texas Rangers in 2022. Venable was the associate manager next to Bruce Bochy for the past two seasons. Last season, Venable was Bochy’s right-hand man en route to Texas winning the World Series.
Now, Venable will be tasked with turning around one of the worst teams in MLB history. To secure the position, Venable beat out multiple candidates including interim manager Grady Sizemore, Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz, Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis, and Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCullough. Sizemore became the interim manager in August following the dismissal of Pedro Grifol. Following a 101-loss season in 2022, the Sox lost a modern-day record 121 games this past season.
Venable will become the 42nd manager in club history.
