Is there a late entry in the White Sox’s search?
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz has emerged as a “hot managerial candidate” for the league’s two open vacancies. There’s no confirmation yet on whether Albernaz has interviewed with the White Sox, though it’s highly likely given how far along they are in their respective processes.
Albernaz, 41, began his coaching career in 2015 when he served in a role for the Princeton Rays of the Appalachian League. After coaching in the New York-Penn League in 2016 and the International League in 2017, he was named Midwest League Manager of the Year with the Bowling Green Hot Rods in 2018.
He got his first job in a Major League system the next year, joining the Rays as a minor league field coordinator. After 2019, San Francisco hired Albernaz as their bullpen and catching coach where he served for four seasons and worked with White Sox senior pitching advisor Brian Bannister. Steven Vogt then added Albernaz as his bench coach in Cleveland, where together they led the team to an ALCS appearance in their first season.
After his recent interview with the Marlins, Albernaz has been considered one of the club’s leading candidates. Like the White Sox, Miami is also believed to have a strong interest in Clayton McCullough and George Lombard, both of whom were ruled out of the Chicago search earlier on Sunday.
Over the past few days, Heyman has reported that top candidates in the White Sox search are believed to include Rangers associate manager Will Venable and former Angels skipper Phil Nevin, with interim manager Grady Sizemore still in the running as well. It’s unclear where Albernaz factors into things now that he’s attached to the job, but it appears the White Sox are nearing a final decision.
As the team gets set to make a hire, likely at some point this week, we’ll continue to monitor the situation for further updates.
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