CHICAGO — The White Sox search for a new manager appears to be over.
This time, Will Venable got the job.
MLB.com insider Scott Merkin reported late Tuesday, citing a source, that Venable will be named the 44th manager in White Sox history. It was a nice birthday present for Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday.
The White Sox have not commented yet, since the World Series is still going on.
The White Sox reportedly considered Venable during the last hiring cycle, prior to the 2023 season, but opted for Pedro Grifol instead. Venable will replace interim manager Grady Sizemore, who took over for Grifol in August amidst a record-setting 121-loss season.
Venable, a career .249 hitter over nine big-league seasons as a player, is no stranger to Chicago.
After stints playing for the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, Venable was a first- and third-base coach for the Cubs from 2018 to 2020. He was also a special assistant to Theo Epstein before moving on to Boston as the Red Sox bench coach during the 2021 and ’22 seasons.
Venable then worked under manager Bruce Bochy as the associate manager for the Rangers the last two seasons, helping them win a World Series title in 2023.
As a player, Venable was drafted by the Padres out of Princeton University in the seventh round of the 2005 June Amateur Draft. He made his MLB debut with San Diego in 2008 and played with the Padres until 2015, when he was sent to the Rangers that season at the trade deadline.
Venable was granted free agency after a half-season with Texas and released by two other organizations before signing with the Dodgers during the 2016 season. He appeared in just 12 games with Los Angeles.
Venable finished his big-league career with 81 homers, 307 RBI, 135 stolen bases and a .719 OPS.
Venable replaces Grifol and Sizemore, who were at the helm for seasons of 101 losses in 2023 and 121 losses in 2024, which set a Modern Era MLB record (since 1900).
Sizemore went 13-32 as the interim manager after taking over for Grifol last season. Merkin reported Sizemore was one one the candidates in consideration for the full-time job during the search by White Sox general manager Chris Getz and staff.
But it’s Venable who gets the nod to be the next man to steer the White Sox through their rebuild as they look to recover from one of the worst seasons in MLB history.