White Sox hiring this former Cubs coach as their next manager is a stroke of genius

The bar couldn't be set much lower when it comes to anything the Chicago White Sox do. After all, this is the team that squandered what looked like a championship window, hired an aging and clearly diminished Tony La Russa to manage the team in 2021 instead of AJ Hinch, who instead went on to join the division-rival Detroit Tigers. It's also the team that lost an MLB record 121 games this year and has stated they don't plan on spending heavily this offseason.

So imagine my surprise when owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Chris Getz didn't totally bungle their most recent managerial search. The White Sox have not confirmed, but reports indicate Chicago is hiring former Chicago Cubs coach Will Venable as the 44th manager in franchise history.

Venable has served on the coaching staffs of a trio of World Series-winning managers in Joe Maddon, Alex Cora and, most recently, Bruce Bochy. He spent the last two years as the Rangers' associate manager under Bochy, learning from a future Hall of Fame skipper and winning a championship in 2023.

A Princeton grad, Venable's name has come in in multiple managerial searches in recent years - and he joins an ever-growing list of first-time managers in the big leagues. The lack of minor league managerial experience is a complete non-factor in today's game and his background makes him a perfect hire for a White Sox team that's done little right since welcoming La Russa back, first as manager, then as a special advisor to the front office.

Venable first joined the Cubs in the fall of 2017 as a special advisor to then-president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. The following spring, he moved to the dugout as lines continue to blur between the field staff and front office, serving as the Cubs' first base coach in 2018 and 2019 before shifting to the third base coach job under David Ross in 2020.

From there, Venable joined the Red Sox as Alex Cora's bench coach, filling that role in Boston through the 2022 season. That November, he was named the associate manager in Texas and it was widely assumed he'd take over whenever Bochy decided to hang it up for good. Instead, he will take his impressive resume and reputation to the South Side and look to get the White Sox back on track.