As details continue to leak following this morning’s report that Pedro Grifol will be named the next White Sox manager, the team’s new bench coach has also been revealed.
According to a Twitter user named Northbrook Bob (@nbb77), former Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo will be named the White Sox bench coach. If you’re unfamiliar with the account, “Northbrook Bob” has been known to previously have connections within the White Sox organization.
This report was later confirmed by Dan Bernstein, who is a mid-day host for 670 The Score in Chicago. Bernstein has since gone on 670 The Score to report it as part of his daily news, and MLB Network insider Jon Morosi acknowledged it on the station’s Parkins & Spiegel Show later in the day.
Montoyo, 57, has been a long-time coach within both the Rays and Blue Jays organizations. He started with the then-Devil Rays back in 1997 as the manager of the Rookie-level Princeton Devil Rays. He would work his way up through the organization as a manager, eventually rising to the Triple-A Durham Bulls by 2007. In 2009, he managed the Puerto Rican 2009 World Baseball Classic team and was a coach for the World Team in the 2010 and 2011 All-Star Futures Games.
Montoyo completed his rise to the major league level in 2015 after interviewing for the Mariners’ managerial position. Heading into the 2016 season, Montoyo would be named the Rays’ major league bench coach, a role he would hold through the 2018 season. Prior to the 2019 season, Montoyo would be named the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. There, he was nominated for AL Manager of the Year in 2020 and made one playoff appearance. His team finished 91-71 in 2021, but in a stacked AL East, that was only good for fourth place. This season, after a 46-42 start with the Blue Jays, the team fired him after a 2-9 stretch, likely due to underperformance.
As a long-time baseball manager at all levels, Montoyo brings a stability and former managerial presence to a staff that will reportedly be led by a first-time manager in Grifol. Montoyo has experience with a forward-thinking staff in Tampa Bay and postseason play with Toronto, so he helps to bridge the gap in terms of areas that Grifol may lack.
Though the White Sox have not confirmed this report, a staff led by Pedro Grifol and Charlie Montoyo gives the White Sox a blend of experience, analytical background, and baseball knowledge that the team was looking for going into the offseason. Though reports have surfaced saying the White Sox will keep their pitching coaches, the rest of their new staff has not been reported.
As more information becomes known, we will continue to provide updates.
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Good day to be a White Sox fan. Don’t stop now boys! Hopefully the hot stove will be even more tantalizing!