Headlines

  • Cardinals To Promote Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore; Tyler O’Neill To IL
  • Max Scherzer Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Oblique Strain
  • Chris Paddack Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
  • Brandon Lowe Diagnosed With Stress Reaction, Shut Down For At Least Three Weeks
  • DeGrom MRI Reveals “Continued Healing”; Still No Clear Timetable For Return
  • Boras: Michael Conforto Not Ruling Out Late-Season Return
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Will Venable Retires, Joins Cubs’ Front Office

By Steve Adams | September 6, 2017 at 11:49am CDT

The Cubs announced on Wednesday that former Major League outfielder Will Venable has been hired as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer. The team’s press release also notes that Venable has now formally retired from his playing career.

According to the release, Venable will “contribute to all elements” of the Cubs’ baseball operations department. More specifically, his duties will include visiting the team’s minor league affiliates to work with players both on and off the field as well as assisting in the evaluation of amateur talent leading up to the MLB draft in June.

“I’m extremely grateful Jed and Theo have given me the opportunity to learn from them and all of the great people in the Cubs organization,” said Venable in an accompanying statement. “As my playing days have come to an end, I look forward to exploring new ways to have a positive impact on the game. I am excited to be part of the Cubs family and their amazing tradition.”

Venable, 35 next month, will see his career officially come to a close after parts of nine seasons in the Major Leagues. Through 3,146 plate appearances, the Princeton University grad batted .249/.315/.404 with 81 homers, 118 doubles, 39 triples and 135 steals. Venable saw time at all three outfield spots in the Majors and drew positive grades at each in terms of Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. His best year came in 2013, when he hit .268/.312/.484 (126 OPS+) with 22 homers and 22 steals for the Padres.

In the end, Baseball-Reference pegged his career at 12.9 wins above replacement, while Fangraphs was slightly more bullish at 13.7. Between his contractual salaries and his signing bonus out of the draft as a seventh-rounder, Venable earned more than $14MM as a player. We at MLBTR wish the best of luck to Will in his new career path.

Share 0 Retweet 15 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Retirement Will Venable

Ian Kinsler’s 2018 Option Has Vesting Clause
Main
Cardinals Acquire Juan Nicasio
View Comments (10)

Comments

  1. atlbraves2010

    5 years ago

    he was drafted out of an ivy league school, Princeton maybe? Smart guy, he should go far in a front office somewhere

    Reply
  2. sufferfortribe

    5 years ago

    So where did he go to school?

    Reply
  3. Yamsi12

    5 years ago

    Goodnight sweet prince.

    Reply
  4. tim815

    5 years ago

    Another smart hire for a very astute front office.

    Hiring an intelligent individual at a degree of an entry-level post should rarely backfire. Venable wants to move up the ladder, and does that only by being good in the scouting and/or development angles of the organization.

    If he adds 2 WAR to only one player’s career value in the organization, he’d be worth, what, $15 million?

    These are hires that are very tough to see a downside to. He could be in the organization for a decade.

    Vary astute pickup.

    Reply
  5. lesterdnightfly

    5 years ago

    Will also played basketball at Princeton, so he knows the role of good coaching to young athletes..
    Again, good hire–his dad was Max Venable, a solid 12-year major leaguer. Good luck to Will Venable in his new career.

    Reply
  6. mrpadre19

    5 years ago

    He thanks the Cubs and joins their front office when the Padres gave him his opportunity and employed him for much longer.
    Seems like a slap in the face.
    But then again…..the Padres and their fans shouldn’t expect anything else.

    Reply
    • tim815

      5 years ago

      My guess?

      The Cubs offered more chedda.

      Could be wrong.

      Reply
  7. JD396

    5 years ago

    Five decent tools. He was a pretty good 3.5th or 4th outfielder.

    Reply
  8. bringinthereliefpitcher

    5 years ago

    Always had high hopes for him when he came up with the padres. Definitely a hard worker and will be a great addition to the cubs front office.

    Reply
  9. outinleftfield

    5 years ago

    Another Ivy League grad in a baseball front office.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Cardinals To Promote Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore; Tyler O’Neill To IL

    Max Scherzer Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Oblique Strain

    Chris Paddack Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

    Brandon Lowe Diagnosed With Stress Reaction, Shut Down For At Least Three Weeks

    DeGrom MRI Reveals “Continued Healing”; Still No Clear Timetable For Return

    Boras: Michael Conforto Not Ruling Out Late-Season Return

    Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson

    Kumar Rocker Signs With Frontier League’s Tri-City ValleyCats

    Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On Injured List

    Bryce Harper Has Tear In UCL, Won’t Throw For Four Weeks

    Padres Sign Robinson Cano

    Gerardo Parra Retires

    Mariners Promote George Kirby, Place Ken Giles On 60-Day IL

    Diamondbacks To Promote Alek Thomas

    A’s Reinstate Ramon Laureano, Designate Jorge Juan

    Recent

    MLBTR Live Chat: 5/20/22

    Royals Option Carlos Hernandez, Select Foster Griffin

    Yankees Notes: Green, Gil, Judge

    Roberts: Kershaw Likely A Couple Weeks From Throwing Bullpen Session

    Reds Make Series Of Roster Moves

    Tigers Claim Brendon Davis From Angels

    Mets Sign Trevor Cahill To Minor League Contract

    Big Hype Prospects: Gorman, Liberatore, Thomas, Lewis, Rodriguez

    Cubs Notes: Contreras, Heuer, Howard

    Latest On Asdrubal Cabrera

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Story Rumors
    • Frankie Montas Rumors
    • Michael Conforto Rumors
    • Arbitration Tracker
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version