The White Sox are expected to officially announce their 2025 coaching staff within the next week, but Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the club will be retaining most of its incumbent coaches. In terms of new faces, first-time manager Will Venable will be joined by bench coach Walker McKinven (whose hiring was reported by Venable two weeks ago), director of hitting Ryan Fuller, and a new assistant hitting coach whose identity has yet to be revealed.
Hitting coach Marcus Thames, pitching coach Ethan Katz, assistant pitching coach Matt Wise, first base coach Jason Bourgeois, third base coach Justin Jirschele, and catching coach Drew Butera are all expected to return. Grady Sizemore will also return to the coaching staff after serving as Chicago’s interim manager when Pedro Grifol was fired in early August. Interim bench coach Doug Sisson and interim assistant hitting coach Mike Gellinger won’t be returning to those roles, but are expected to take other jobs in the organization.
While the White Sox didn’t feel the need to entirely revamp the coaching staff in the wake of a 121-loss season, it should be noted that many of these coaches were already relative newcomers to the organization. Thames, Wise, Bourgeois, and Butera were all hired just last offseason, and Jirschele was installed last August when former third base coach Eddie Rodriguez was also fired along with Grifol and former bench coach Charlie Montoyo.
There’s really nowhere to go but up for the White Sox in the wake of the worst season in modern baseball history, though Venable and his staff will have another long year ahead of them as the Sox continue their rebuild. Obviously wins aren’t expected for now, as Venable and the coaches face the broader challenge of helping develop the team’s younger players and changing what reportedly became a toxic clubhouse culture.
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