After firing Pedro Grifol last season along with many of his selected staff members, there is unlikely to be another large overhaul to the White Sox’ coaching staff following the hiring of Will Venable.
According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Venable’s coaching staff will reportedly look much like the group that operated for the team at the end of last season following Grifol’s dismissal. The largest changes will be the additions of Walker McKinven as the team’s new bench coach and a yet-to-be-named assistant hitting coach.
The staff is expected to be announced sometime this week, according to Van Schouwen.
Both hitting coach Marcus Thames (second season) and pitching coach Ethan Katz (fifth season) will be returning, as will Grady Sizemore, Justin Jirschele, Jason Burgeois, Matt Wise, and Drew Butera. Only Sizemore’s role remains unknown, with the rest expected to remain in the positions in which they finished the season:
- Justin Jirschele: Third Base Coach
- Jason Burgeois: First Base Coach
- Matt Wise: Assistant Pitching Coach
- Drew Butera: Catching Coach
Mike Gellinger and Doug Sisson, who both joined the staff temporarily, will remain in the organization but reportedly not at the major league level.
The White Sox’s new assistant hitting coach is not yet known, though Director of Hitting Ruan Fuller is likely to have a large say in this position. The White Sox’ previous assistant hitting coach – Mike Tosar – was dismissed at the same time as Grifol last season.
The newest addition for the White Sox is the aforementioned new bench coach Walker McKinven from the Brewers. McKinven, 35, has served in various roles within the Milwaukee Brewers organization since 2016. He got his start as a coordinator of Advance Scouting and Manager of Major League Strategy in the front office before working his way up to the major league coaching staff. He has most recently served as Associate Pitching, Catching and Strategy coach from 2021-23 and then as the club’s Run Prevention Coordinator this past season. McKinven was viewed as a key member of the Brewers staff in recent seasons.
It’s not likely much of a surprise that the White Sox decided to keep much of their staff in place. Director of Pitching Brian Bannister and Ethan Katz have a long-standing relationship that has brought about many success stories in San Francisco and now Chicago. Ryan Fuller likely had a say in allowing Thames to stick around and will have a large say in the team’s assistant hitting coach. Finally, Venable brought along his own bench coach in McKinven. The rest – Sizemore, Jirschele, Butera, Wise, and Burgeois – represent some continuity in roles that are useful for the club. For example, Jirschele has connections to several players who will be spending time with the club next season with their youth movement. Drew Butera has worked with top-catching prospect Edgar Quero during the past two spring seasons. Sizemore was a symbol of the culture shift that Chris Getz has been trying to bring to the White Sox and will remain around at Venable’s request.
While none of these positions are technically finalized until the White Sox make this week’s anticipated announcement, it seems as though fans should really be looking for two things in particular at this point:
- Grady Sizmore’s title/role(s)
- The team’s new assistant hitting coach
As more information becomes available, we will continue to provide updates.
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Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Another Sox white wash… keeping the same clowns in place shows how inept this organization is. Venable should have been allowed a clean slate for his canvass. Not allowing him to hire his own his staff, is what looser organizations do. And, since Venable is going along with it…. I’m even less enthusiastic about his hire.
Texas jettisoned him for reason… now maybe we have a glimpse why???