121-loss White Sox turn to Venable, sources say

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 moving to the Chicago Cubs as a special assistant in 2017 and then as their base coach from 2018 to 2020. He was Boston's bench coach. in 2021 before being hired by Texas, where he served as an associate manager alongside Bruce Bochy for the past two seasons.

Venable spent most of his playing career in San Diego before being 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 after the team broke a modern-day record for 121 losses 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 Reindorf hired former White Sox player Chris Gaetz. Head of the team's baseball department.

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

Venable would 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 AJ Ellis, Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCollough and Sizemore, who was popular with the players during his brief interim tenure.

MLB.com first reported Venable's expected hiring. An announcement was expected ahead of the GM meetings starting next Tuesday