White Sox to hire Will Venable as new manager after MLB-record 121-loss season: Report

The Chicago White Sox have decided who will take over a dugout that just experienced one of the worst seasons in MLB history.

The team is hiring former MLB outfielder Will Venable, currently the associate manager of the Texas Rangers behind Bruce Bochy, as their next manager, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports. Venable will replace Pedro Grifol, who was fired in August.

The news broke Tuesday night, on Venable’s birthday. It also broke right after the New York Yankees’ Game 4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, so never let it be said the White Sox didn’t make headlines during the 2024 Fall Classic.

Venable, 42, played 967 games across nine years with the San Diego Padres, Rangers and Dodgers over a nine-year MLB career, building a reputation as a great clubhouse presence even when he was just working as a fourth outfielder.

After his playing days came to an end, Venable joined the Chicago Cubs as special assistant to then-team president Theo Epstein. The next three seasons he served as a base coach for the team. In 2021, Venable was a bench coach for the Boston Red Sox, then joined Bochy’s Rangers staff in 2022.

He became a World Series champion in 2023 when the Rangers won the Commissioner’s Trophy for the first time in franchise history.