MLB news: Chicago White Sox hiring Texas Rangers coach Will Venable as next manager, ESPN reports

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox are hiring Texas Rangers coach Will Venable to be their next manager, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday night.

Venable, 42, played nine years in the big leagues before transitioning to an off-the-field role as a special assistant with the Chicago Cubs in 2017, and then as a base coach for them from 2018 to 2020. He was Boston’s bench coach in 2021 before being hired by Texas, where he has served as associate manager next to Bruce Bochy for the past two seasons.

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The majority of Venable’s playing career was spent in San Diego before he was traded to the Rangers in 2015. He played for the Dodgers in 2016 before retiring.

Venable hit .249 with 81 career home runs in 967 games, playing exclusively in the outfield.

Venable replaces interim manager Grady Sizemore, who was also a candidate for the permanent job. The White Sox fired former manager Pedro Grifol in August as the team broke a modern day record for losses with 121 this season.

The White Sox have been on a steady decline since winning the division in 2021. A 101-loss season in 2022 cost former general manager Rick Hahn and team president Kenny Williams their jobs, as longtime owner Jerry Reinsdorf hired former White Sox player Chris Getz to head the team’s baseball department.

In the past year, Getz turned over the front office and has now hired his first manager, a respected longtime player and coach.

Venable will become the 42nd manager in franchise history. He was chosen from a long list of candidates that included Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz, Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis, Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCollough and Sizemore, who was popular with players during his short interim stint.

White Sox fans reacted to the news Wednesday.

It was a busy lunch crowd at Ricobene’s on the South Side, not far from Guaranteed Rate Field. It was filled with mostly Sox fans, but few were familiar with the name of the man reported to be the next Sox manager.

“Who is Will Venable? I don’t know,” Sox fan Art Bosi said.

Sox fans are hoping for a few more wins next season, and the job apparently falls to Venable.

“The consensus on sports talk radio seems to be that Venable may be well qualified… but he’s got a tough job ahead of him,” Chicago Tribune baseball writer Paul Sullivan said. “After losing the most games in major league history last season… the team has nowhere to go but up.”

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“It’s the hardest job in the history of the world,” ESPN radio 1000 host John Jurkovic said. “The Chicago White Sox, where they’re at right now, trying to get them to be respectable.”

The Southsides are trying to draw fans, including season ticket holders, back to the ballpark.

“We’re not getting them this year, ’cause we’re just not excited about a big turnaround,” Sox fan Paul Sedlacek said.

The White Sox are expected to officially introduce Venable as their new manager early next week.

MLB.com first reported Venable’s expected hiring. An announcement was expected before the GM meetings, which begin next Tuesday.

ABC7 Chicago’s John Garcia contributed to this report.