The Chicago White Sox will hire Texas Rangers associate manager Will Venable as the 44th manager in franchise history, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The news broke late Tuesday night, shortly after the conclusion of Game Four of the World Series. Venable was one of three reported finalists for the job. The others were Cleveland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and former Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin. Venable and Albernaz were reportedly considered the two finalists for the Miami Marlins managerial opening, so don’t be surprised if Albernaz is tapped for that position.
The Chicago White Sox plan to hire Will Venable as their manager, sources tell me and @JesseRogersESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 30, 2024
Report: White Sox to Hire Will Venable as New Manager
Venable who turned 42 on Tuesday, had a nine-year MLB career. He was first drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2004 (15th round), then again by the San Diego Padres in 2005 (7th round) out of Princeton University. The outfielder made his major league debut in 2008 with San Diego, and he spent nearly eight seasons with them. Venable was traded midseason to the Texas Rangers in 2015. After multiple tryouts with teams the following spring, he then played 12 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016 to round out his career. Across nine seasons, Venable slashed .249/.315/.404 with 81 home runs, 307 RBI, and 135 stolen bases. For four straight seasons (2010-13), Venable swiped 20 or more bags for the Friars.
Once his playing career ended, Venable had several different coaching and front-office gigs. His first role in this capacity was as a special assistant for the Chicago Cubs under Theo Epstein. He later moved back down to the field, coaching both first and third base for Chicago. Before the 2021 season, Venable became the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox. He stayed in that role for two seasons, and managed the team for six games in 2022 while Alex Cora was out with COVID-19. He then joined the Texas Rangers staff as associate manager in Bruce Bochy‘s first year as skipper. That combo ended up working, as Texas took home its first World Series title in 2023.
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