White Sox executive search reportedly down to three finalists

The White Sox are on the hunt for a new manager and may be getting closer to a decision. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Xthe three finalists for the job are Rangers associate manager Will Venable, Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and former Angels manager Phil Nevin.

As noted by Nightengale, this could make for an interesting standoff. The Sox are one of two clubs in search of a new manager, the other being the Marlins. It was reported yesterday by Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald that Venable and Albernaz are the two finalists for the Marlins gig, so there is plenty of overlap in the two searches.

Nevin, 53, appears to be the one name on the radar of the Sox, but not the Marlins. Jon Heyman of The New York Post listed him as a contender a few weeks ago, and it appears Nevin is still in the running. He is also the only one in the group with previous management experience. He worked as the Angels’ third base coach in 2022 when manager Joe Maddon was fired. The club gave Nevin the gig on a temporary basis and eventually re-signed him for the 2023 campaign, but did not extend his contract after that.

The club went 119-149 during his time there, but that may not say much about his ability as a skipper. The club also posted poor results before he had the job and after he left, meaning the poor record is likely more a reflection of roster construction as opposed to a lack of dugout leadership.

After parting ways with the Angels, Nevin interviewed for the vacancy in San Diego, but that job went to Mike Shildt, and Nevin didn’t land a gig elsewhere for the 2024 season. Before joining the Angels, he spent about a decade in the majors as a player before transitioning to coaching. He worked in indy ball and then in the minors with the Tigers and Diamondbacks. He then had major league coaching jobs with the Giants and Yankees before landing with the Angels.

Venable is also a former player with plenty of coaching experience. He was a base coach with the Cubs during the 2018-2020 seasons before becoming a bench coach with the Red Sox. He has spent the last two years as an associate manager for the Rangers under skipper Bruce Bochy.

He was listed as a candidate for managerial gigs last winter with the Guardians and Mets, but reportedly declined to be interviewed as he was content with the Rangers. Now it seems he is considering one more change. Heyman reported yesterday that Venable was in Miami to interview for that gig, and a move to the South Side of Chicago also appears to be possible.

Albernaz never cracked the majors as a player, spending nearly a decade in the minors from 2006 to 2014. He then began his coaching career in the Rays minor league system. Prior to the 2020 season, he was added to the Major League staff of the Giants as the bullpen and catching coach. A year ago, the Guardians hired him to be their bench coach and work under new manager Stephen Vogt.

It has been speculated by some that Albernaz is the favorite for the Miami job, given his history with Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. When Albernaz coached for the Rays in the minors, Bendix worked for that club, eventually becoming general manager in December 2021.

Pedro Grifol was fired as White Sox manager this past season and replaced by Grady Sizemore on an interim basis. Sizemore had been identified as a candidate to take the job more permanently, but Nightengale’s report suggests he is behind this trio of Venable, Albernaz and Nevin.

Plenty of other names have been linked to the job, but many have reportedly been eliminated from the lineup, including former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso, Tigers bench coach George Lombard, Rangers bench coach and offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker, Dodgers first. base coach Clayton McCullough and Padres special assistant AJ Ellis.

Teams are generally discouraged from announcing big news on days when a playoff game takes place. Even if the White Sox make a final decision soon, it may not be publicly reported until after the World Series or until Thursday’s off-day.