White Sox Hiring Former Cubs Coach Will Venable as Manager

Did…did the White Sox just make a really smart move? Long mired in organizational incompetence and fresh off the worst season in MLB history, the South Siders have reached an agreement with former Cubs coach Will Venable to become their next manager. The team has yet to confirm, perhaps due to the understood moratorium on big news during the World Series, but Scott Merkin of MLB.com first reported the hire and other outlets have confirmed it.

This comes as a bit of a surprise because the Sox have a tendency to screw things up and Venable has previously turned down other managerial openings. One might be concerned that taking this gig with Jerry Reinsdorf still in control is career poison, though it’s very possible Venable sees a bright silver lining around this Good Guys Wear Black cloud. I mean, things can’t possibly get any worse from here.

If he’s able to guide the White Sox back to something resembling mediocrity, let alone actual competitiveness, he’ll be able to nab a prime role elsewhere when such an opening becomes available. Or maybe he just loves Chicago, having spent three seasons (2018-20) on the North Side as the first base and third base coach after joining the organization in 2017 as a special assistant to Theo Epstein. Venable actually interviewed for the job that ultimately went to David Ross and stayed on the staff for a season before joining the Red Sox as bench coach.

The job in Boston came after Venable interviewed for the managerial opening that eventually went back to Alex Cora, making it two seasons in a row that he was able to swallow his pride to an extent. Venable had also interviewed with the Tigers. He ended up spending two seasons in Boston before departing for an associate manger role with the Rangers, then turned down interviews with the Mets and Guardians last year. Between seeming like the heir apparent to the aged Bruce Bochy and having declined better jobs — at least on paper — the White Sox landing Venable was viewed as a longshot.

But hey, maybe he felt he might be getting to the point where continually turning down new chances might mean teams would stop asking. Perhaps the Rangers’ fall from grace took a little of the shine off his career trajectory or something about the team’s direction spurred him to seek something new. Whatever the case, I think this is a tremendous hire by the White Sox and I truly hope Venable does good things there.

As much as Cubs fans like to bash their neighbors on the other side of town, it’s much better for Chicago when both teams are competitive.

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