The Chicago White Sox and manager Rick Renteria has agreed to “part ways,” per The Athletic’s James Fegan and others (via Twitter). The club announced the move. The rest of the coaching staff will be determined in consultation with their next manager, per Fegan.
The news comes as a surprise after the White Sox stormed the AL Central to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Renteria was famously let go by the Chicago Cubs as well in a similar fashion. After one season with the Cubs in 2014, the team jumped at the chance to hire Joe Maddon, just as the team was becoming competitive. The White Sox had lauded Renteria’s work, but ultimately they decided to make a similar move just as their club hopes to embark on a multi-year run of contention.
Renteria spent four seasons with the White Sox totaling a 236-309 (.436) record in that time. Of course, for most of this tenure, the White Sox did not roster a team expected to contend in the AL Central. It was only this season that expectations rose. Renteria seemingly answered the call, leading Chicago to a 35-25 record before falling to the A’s in a 3-game wild card series.
As successful as this season was, however, it was also marred by two late collapses, one to lose the division crown after taking a lead into the week’s final weeks. The other came in the wild card round, when a game one victory brought them to within one win of advancing. GM Rick Hahn, however, said the decision was about the organization’s standing at this time, and it doesn’t have anything to do with specific decision made on Renteria’s part, per Fegan.
Still, neither collapses rate on a grand scale, especially in the playoffs, where a 3-game series hardly allows for enough of a lead to swing expectations. Regardless, GM Rick Hahn felt a change should be made. He will be addressing the media a little later on today.
Rebuilding managers never get to see any fruits of their labor. Art Howe is the fist guy that comes to mind.
Like Art Howe, Renteria was not a good manager, and I’m not a Sox fan and I saw that.
Bingo. Even the Sheep could see it.
I think that’s part of the change in culture that teams try to have when they transition from rebuilding to winning. The rebuilding manager was there overseeing continual losses while they developed players, so once they’re ready to take it to the next level they bring someone else in who’s not associated with the losing.
Whether it’s fair or not, it makes sense to me why it happens.
Perfect comment. It arguably isn’t fair, but it’s traditionally how it goes for rebuilding clubs. You don’t go through a rebuild just to entirely remake a team as the players start to graduate to the pros, so the easiest way to change the ‘culture’ is to change the manager at the helm.
Steve Stone and Steve Stones ego, I’m sure helped throw Renteria under the bus.
It’ll be interesting to see if the vastly overrated Don Cooper survives once again.
He gone
Steve Stone’s ego got RR fired? Lol.
Steve Stone could become a really good or even a great manager. He really knows his baseball, that’s for sure.
I knew the lucid comments from dogbone would not last, someone must have painted his parents basement again.
I would hate to be called the ‘fist’ guy… ewwww…
Bo Porter is another. Just a guy the Astros used during the rebuild and tossed overboard as soon as the team began turning the corner.
Hope they keep the Renteria thing going and bring in Edgar to coach
I’ll throw out a dark, very dark horse…. Clint Hurdle
Buck Showalter
I wish. He’s an excellent coach.
I think Buck is the man.
Clint is retired for good.There was no more fire in his belly and it was pretty obvious to many of us.
Bleh no actually the article definitely sparks an idea that maybe they see a really big name they’re pretty sure can be brought in to replace him with.. Hurdle’s not a bad manager there are just better candidates.
They are going to hire hinch.
Who basically was spoon fed decisions by the front office and then lost the respect of the club house, allowing them to implement the cheating scandal.
Hinch is going to Detroit
Like to see the Cora brothers on Southside
I don’t think Hinch or Cora should ever hold a manager’s job again. There are plenty of qualified candidates to pick from.
lordd99: but it looks like they will get jobs again, because apparently there aren’t any non-cheaters that deserve a shot. /s
NO
which Cubs’sloppy seconds are they going to target next?
Jim Riggleman, Lou Pinella Dale Sveum. Obviously not Sweet Lou he’s 77. Could be worse. Jack McKeon is 89 and 90 next month
Funny, One would think Cubs fans would be more concerned about what is happening on the north side right now than what the Sox are doing.
It actually was not a surprise
They said you give us a “winning season you’re gone” and he said “Ight bet”
I only saw highlights of the Sox this year and on twitter I see a lot of fans saying things like “Finally!”
Was he that bad of a manager? Legitimately asking for some takes here from some people who follow the team. Thanks
Good in the clubhouse, bad in-game. Really bad at managing pitchers.
I second this.
Yeah, Renteria sorta seems like the perfect manager for a club while you’re rebuilding in that he’s decent enough and he’ll keep things together during the losing. Probably not the guy you want to try to win with, though. He’ll surely land another gig, however.
He brought Kopech back after a rain delay, then TJ. He insanely rushes Crochet into the first inning of game 3 versus Oakland, and if they kid has a TJ announcement this week this makes complete sense.
Crochet had questionable arm issues when they drafted him. Don’t blame Renteria for that. How in the world does Cooper walk away from this mess, without blame?
Dog, have you seen what Cooper did with Giolito and all the bullpen rookies this year? Pretty strong overall. And you ripped the Colume acquisition. How did Mr Cooper do with that one? Just asking, ha ha ha.
You ‘whiffed’ on this one, ‘ha ha’, just read the latest news!!
Coop ‘He’s Gone’ too. Lol.
I blame him for potentially turning Matt Foster into a paper weight? Also, Giolito has his own pitching coach and has since being good.
Yeah. He’s a good argument for getting rid of managers and letting computers make all the decisions. That bad.
Letting the likely AL MOY go? I’m just going to ask why.
It’s happened before. Girardi in Miami. I suspect Cash wins it though.
Usually goes to the team that made the playoffs when they weren’t expected to. Rays were expected to.
As were the Chisox, with the moves they made to get to this season.
Not with Indians and Twins… they had a chance, but window was smaller.
Hate to say it, but the job Dusty has done in Houston is commendable. Not saying he’s MOY, but he’s worth consideration.
Below .500 in a weak division with the roster he inherited. Not a chance. Will likely only last one more season as Astros’ manager.
He went under 500 in a pretty weak Div
Yeah and with the injured ilst in Houston, going 1 game under .500 was a miracle. They just started Framber Valdez in Game 1 of the ALCS. FRAMBER VALDEZ. He’s a decent young pitcher, but in no way should he be the de facto ace of a team one series away from the championship,
The *stros underperformed with a losing record during the regular season and votes had to be submitted prior to the postseason.
They beat the Twins and A’s in the postseason. Not that difficult. A’s have won 2 series in 20 years and Twins have lost 17 straight postseason games. If they pony up against the Rays, then I’ll take this seriously, if not, forget it. rays aren’t losing the series.
Playoffs don’t count for this award, so like other have stated, going below 0.500 means he won’t even sniff even a finalist spot. Normal season rules and they are sitting at home, no way that doesn’t go into consideration for the award
Did you see their IL during the regular season as well?
Awards are voted on before the playoffs.
Only one manager has ever managed to win MOY with a losing record since 1983. That was Joe Girardi with the Marlins in 2006. And that was due in large part to the Marlins’ low payroll and what was perceived as a bad roster. Dusty doesn’t have either of those working in his favor.
The man took over a team that was burdened with the most scandalous off season in recent history. Couple that with the way he got the job in the first place. He lost his best starter, his closer, and his dynamic young DH for the year before the first week of the season was over. Plus, there was IL stints by Bregman, Brantley, and Altuve. This was on top of already losing another top starter from the year before.
I get that people don’t like the Astros. But even the biggest hater of the team, has to admit that Dusty Baker had an almost impossible task in taking over this team and did about as good a job as anyone could have.
@hiflew he’s not even going to place in the top 3. Stop it with your ridiculousness.
It doesn’t matter how “impossible” his task was. He didn’t perform, so he’s not going to win the award, that’s a pretty simple concept. The award isn’t the “who has the most stacked against them” award or it would go to losing managers all the time. Finishing at least .500 is the absolutely lowest bar to clear to define success and he couldn’t even do that.
It’s a shame this award has fallen into a trap of “last year’s win total vs this year’s total.” Anybody who watched this team consistently will tell you they underachieved given the talent finally on board (especially down the stretch) and there were many inexplicable pitching changes. The stubbornness to constantly rely on Jimmy Cordero in tight spots when you have far better options going was enough alone to warrant the dismissal.
Raptors let Dwayne Casey go after winning coach of the year, brought in Nick Nurse and won it all.
Nuggets did the same thing with George Karl and went into the tank for 5 years afterwards. So it can go both ways.
White Sox gm said “give us a winning season and you’re gone” he said “Ight bet”
Ozzie has been doing his best, to make a play for the job.
Hensley Meulens would be a good fit.
Wow, I liked Renteria, and I thought the Sox did too. Now I know the two people I want to see as the Rangers new manageril candidates, Jeff Mathis and Rick Renteria.
He’s a genial type. Hope he helps you guys out
Good effin riddance. USELESS
…and yet another typo in the very first sentence of a Zencka article…work a little less on the fancy synonyms and a little bit more on the grammar and sentence structure, eh?
Good lord. You took time out of your life to complain about free content?
Great advice on how to best spend your time and effort, from the guy squawking about typos within moments of a new post popping up
I like and JD: Lloyd does us a great service. It pays to respect the mother tongue.
Scrolling down to the comments isn’t where I’d go to celebrate my linguistic heritage
Wut? How many times is the city of Chicago going to screw this man over.
Probably just twice, unless he gets hired to coach the Bulls.
Well, there is the Blackhawks too, but he seems to have run out of baseball teams.
Doug Collins says hi.
A.J. Pierzynski will be the White Sox next manager. Pierzynski knows the game of baseball. Former catchers usually do well as managers. Plus, Pierzynski knows how to handle a pitching staff.
But rumor is and always has been that nobody likes A.J. Pierzynski
Actually, Pierzynski has been working within the White Sox organization the last few years. Show us proof that Pierzynski is not liked rather than spitting out false information.
You want Robin Ventura 2.0? He has no experience, and the team is ready to win now.
I would take Pierzynski‘s experience as a catcher to the pitching staff he handled while with the White Sox over Renteria’s lack of knowledge with handling a pitching staff. The talent is there with the White Sox with the hitting and pitching. Catchers know pitchers better than any other position players.
I would advice anyone confused about whether or not AJP is widely disliked in the MLB community to do a Google search with his name and the phrase “most hated.”
Everyone gets their start somewhere.. look at Rocco Badelli and Craig Counsell in terms of guys with little to no experience having a ton of success.
I think, in this day and age, GM’s worry less about experience and more about a managers willingness to obey (for a lack of a better term) analytics.
As far as AJ being “liked”, I don’t feel like a coach needs to be liked… He needs to be respected. I always like Pierzynski despite being a Cubs fan. I appreciated his gamemanship and temperament.
Being around the game a long time and having the right perspective on it can definitely be a substitute for formal coaching experience
If the White Sox are ready to win they need someone who knows how to handle a pitching staff. It’s plain and simple. We saw the what took place in the last few weeks of the season and in the first round of the playoffs with Renteria. There are not too many options out there with managers. I don’t think bringing in Hinch or Cora would be a smart idea right now. Sandy Alomar Jr. will most likely replace Francona in Cleveland. I just remember an interview Pierzynski was doing on the White Sox’s home opener where sounded he was being groomed to take over. It would be a great move for the organization. I would like to Vizquel brought in as a base coach as well.
Just based off of his reputation as a player, I can’t imagine that Pierzynski could land a managerial job. I could be wrong but I remember him as being one of the most disliked people in baseball, sometimes including his own teammates.
Frank Thomas? Other former White Sox’s?
Nothing but rumors with Pierzynski not being liked by his teammates during his days in a White Sox uniform! If anyone was somewhat disliked by teammates it had to be Frank Thomas over A.J. Pierzynski.
If you want an ex-player, Thome is a far, far better option. He’s done some coaching and is loved by everyone.
Catchers are better managers than another former position players. Thome is a nice guy but not a manger.
people keepsaying how disliked he is because people keep saying how much they dislike him.
@BeeVee. The truth is, while A.J. played, it was common knowledge that Pierzenski was hated so that’s why the poster didn’t defend his statement.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/mlb/2014/7/11/5859442/aj-pierzynski-red-sox-white-sox-dfa-release
The Red Sox players called out Pierzynski because he said they would be drinking beers before the games.
I’m sure a Hall-of-Fame player who was credited as being a mentor to younger players and a positive influence in clubhouses will do just fine.
Favorite Pierzynski moment was when he asked the umpire for a new ball, one the ump could see. He got ejected. The guy has balls and would be a good fit for the Chisox and their young pitching staff.
I said Steve Stone earlier, but AJ would be great too. He’s such a passionate competitor is likely the reason of his dislike. Usually that hatred was from his opposition not teammates. One thing for sure White Sox fans sure and still love him.
Oh, he had some legendary issues with teammates…
“If you play with him, you hate him a little less” – Ozzie Guillen
BV, I hope your right. I’d love AJ to get the job. Just to show what a useless fool he is.
Dogbone worry about that mess on the north side of the city rather than trolling on White Sox’s post. Say something with substance rather than uttering nonsense from your mouth. It’s obvious you have no baseball IQ.
Michael Barrett is that you?
Dogbone Speaking of useless fools!!
Ozzie Guillen
Ozzie Guillén already said he will never manager again.
So did Bruce Bochy. That hasn’t stopped people from mentioning him.
The Bochy thing was weird. He agreed to step down from the Giants, and then they played it off as a retirement tour. Bruce Bochy wasn’t necessarily retiring. He’s said he would take a year off and see what he wants to do next.
From what I could tell, it was supposed to be a mutual decision to keep the Giants from firing their three time WS winning manager. They clearly wanted to move on from Bochy, and it shouldn’t be surprising that a team that seemingly brings back fan favourites would not want to be seen as getting rid of their most successful manager.
The Sox already have also announced that will not happen
Pitching Coach Don Cooper needs to go as well.
I have some good news for you….
He gone.
The team over perform this year and made it to the playoffs a year earlier than anyone expected and they fire him? What were they expecting? The World Series? If that was their expectation that was highly unrealistic.
Renteria made some REALLY bad calls this season and in the playoffs, and this is nothing new. The problem is that Renteria never learned from them. I think the Sox learn from the Ventura fiasco that as bad as you hope a guy will be an excellent manager, sometimes you have to just accept that they will not.
Wow team starts turning it around again and bye-bye thank you for your service. If the White Sox’s win a WS with this crew they need to give Renteria a honorary ring lol
The White Sox has the talent to get to the WS. Bad managing and coaching prevented this from happening. Anyone who knows baseball could see this.
The stunt he pulled in the last game cost him his job period. He managed like crap the last 2 weeks as well. Bring back Ozzie!
He had a pitching staff with five rookies, and needed to test some players to see who could stand up.
And what stunt?
Remember 2005? The Sox had a 14 game lead and almost blew it down the stretch. Are you going to hold Ozzie responsible for that? It’s the same thing that happened under Renteria.
the key word.. Almost.
The stunt he pulled in the last game cost him his job period. He managed like crap the last 2 weeks as well. Bring back Ozzie!
all my prayers have been answered!!! Now, don’t water all this talent and go get a legitimate winning manager.
Rob Refsnyder is ready to manage.
IMHO, Showalter fits perfectly here. Watching him and the ever-young Jim Kaat call the game the other day was a treat; both think before they talk, and stay away from the awful “Well, back in MY day”….
Bucky can take this team to the next level.
Buck is more like Renteria: manage the club and help raise the talent. Buck could never win the big game
This is garbage. Ricky Renteria has those guys working hard.
It’s not his fault the GM handicapped him with a washed-up DH, a lousy RF, and bad hires in the bullpen.
If Ricky goes, Hahn needs to head out the door with him for slowing down the rebuild with the likes of EE, Mazara, Herrera and too many other burnouts.
If? He’s already out the door. Read the article.
I have been saying the Tigers should be in no rush to replace Gardenhire, because some team will get rid of a good manager for the wrong reason. Exhibit A.
As an Indians fan I’m sorry to see him go.
Consistently mismanaged his pitching staff and the team as a whole had very little discipline.
Maybe it’s Hahn who needs to go.
lord99
Hahn acquired a lot of talent!. He is not going anywhere
The two types of comments here are:
1) people who didn’t watch the Sox this year and wonder why they would fire Ricky considering the year-over-year improvement in the win/loss column,
2) People who actually watched the Sox and know Ricky cost them the AL Central title and home field advantage in the first round due to his absolutely baffling choices, especially down the stretch with the bullpen, but also throughout the year with his lineup choices.
3) People who watched this year, and recognize that Ricky had bad choices and worse choices, and that the home-field advantage didn’t matter because they would play in a bubble.
That bullpen was supposed to be anchored by Colome, Bummer, Herrera and Cishek. Two of them were busts signed by Hahn, and Bummer was hurt.
If you are referring to Rodon, keep in mind that his entire plan was probably shot when Crochet was hurt. That looked like a wise decision at the time.
Again, He was dealt the hand he was given, largely because of Hahn’s terrible acquisitions.
Had Keuchel, Anderson and Abreu speaking publicly about the team being flat.
Lied about reasons for in-game decisions. Ejected from 3 straight games down the stretch. Had MVP candidate and best hitter in the 4 spot. Had a player with a .294 career OBP vs. RHP leading off against them. Consistently threw players under the bus when his decisions were questioned. Totally clueless about analytics.
No matter how strong or weak the hand that Hahn gave him was, he missplayed the cards.
Never understood line-up. Should have been 1. anderson, 2. madrigal, 3. abreu, 4. jiminez, 5. grandal/mccann, 6. robert.
Madrigal is a natural two hitter and perfect behind Anderson. Can anyone remember when hit-and-runs were a big part of the game?
Reminds me of Bill James
comments about Ralph Houk as a manager. RH thought his second baseman should always bat lead off no matter how well they hit because the low power speed guys always lead off!
If he can’t think on the fly without a “plan” then he shouldn’t be managing. He also burned though the pen for no reason by yanking Keuchel.
Home field absolutely mattered!. There was no bubble in the first round.
There are no fans. Multiple players in multiple sports, including baseball, have said that pretty much kills any advantage. Some have said its worse, because you get no juice from the crowd when you are expecting it.
Home field mattered because the Sox had to go to CA to play (which they are consistently bad already playing in Oakland)
Typical Renteria move: He put Carlos Rodon in a critical moment against Indians in a huge series. Rodon failed (not his fault, he is a starter) and Renteria said “I just wanted to know before the playoffs if he could do it.” So, now he knew. Then in playoffs he put Rodon in an even dicier situation! He failed. Duuuuuh?!!!!
Not a surprise, see him manage the playoff series against Oakland? Terrible. He almost went through his pitching staff by the sixth inning in a couple of games. Take his starter out with only two outs and two runners on and no runs in. Let the starter work out of it. Then why even start him if that was going to be the case?
If you were watching the game, you’d know His decision to go to Crochet worked. No one was expecting him to get injured. Rodon was head scratcher, but it certainly didn’t warrant losing his job. It’s not as if he had a to of great options.
It warranted him losing his job. That is how horrible he managed.
Widely known that Don Cooper controls all things pitching when it comes to the White Sox and that Ricky basically differed to him on all decisions. The buck stops with the manager but in this case I really think that Cooper had more to do with the poor decisions made in last week of season and the A’s series than Ricky did. Very glad to see that Cooper is now gone.
hope, “widely known”. Your source please?????
Hahn/Williams are on record saying it many times that Cooper is charge of all things pitching. Said it when they hired Ventura as well as when they hired Ricky
the pitching management in that final game was in and of itself a fireable offense
Remember that this is the same ownership as the Bulls. Doug Collins led them across the desert, but Phil Jackson took them to the promised land.
I’m a White Sox fan who watched most of their games, and I don’t really agree with most of the criticism of Ricky’s management. He wasn’t perfect, but I feel like he had the equivalent of a very low BABIP with respect to his bullpen moves as a whole. I wouldn’t have minded if they kept him.
That being said, Ricky was definitely an old school manager. He learned to talk a little bit about modern analytics, but you could tell his heart (and mind) wasn’t really into it. I suspect this is the real motivation for the change, and I would be very surprised if they brought in another old school manager to replace him. Expect to see a younger manager who is well-versed in analytics and other forward-thinking training/preparation approaches.
I also hope that this leads to wholesale changes in the coaching staff — Don Cooper, Joe McEwing, Darryl Boston, and Nick Capra could all stand to be replaced.
Wow. I think this is a poor move by CWS. They bolstered his team and I think he did good. Even good teams go through ups and downs in a season. I get the mini collapse but let’s face it it was a 60 game season. Would look a little different coming ontbhe heals of a full slate of games. Plus if I’m not mistaken they had a few injuries late. I’m not a Sox fan but watched enough games this year to see him manage and thought he did pretty good.
He did a great job building up team chemistry, and the team did weather injuries. Kinda thought they’d give him another season given the freaky dynamics of 2020 but don’t mind the team being proactive. They must see someone they really like.
You must have been watching only games against the Royals and Tigers
What’s Mike Scioscia doing these days? I’m guessing they’ll go after him or someone else that is high profile. Ron Washington? Man took the Rangers to two straight world series if memory serves me right.
Seems like an enticing job too.. 3rd biggest market in the country and a team of young studs that is controllable for a while.
Scioscia was the first one that came to mind, when I thought of reasonably successful managers on the unemployment line.
Ricky is likeable and a good man. He’s also a good manager in some aspects. He’s certainly left some positives with this club that I hope stay in place. I just hope Hahn aims high and really gets the right man for the job. Fan favorites from the past can be fun but not always the best choice.
Rick is smart enough to realize that Ozzie would be a terrible idea.
Ozzie was better at actually managing a club, but I hated how he threw players under the bus and his unprofessional tirades. Thanks for the championship, Ozzie, but we don’t want you back.
From all I’ve read, the players love Rick and that has some value, but his decision-making skills and lineup construction were generally awful. At a certain point, competence becomes at least as important, if not more so, than team rapport.
Decision-making skills were awful according to who? Some fan who watches the games from his couch while guzzling beer? It’s funny how fans think they know more than the actual manager.
Taking Dunning out after 15 pitches just because he let 2 runners on is too tight a leash. Using his best BP arms in the first few innings is a mistake, too. It would have been better to use those great arms to get through the heart of the rotation and let the lesser guys, like Cordero and Rodon, face the bottom of the lineup. Having a different lineup from the prior day (excluding C) more often than not can make it more difficult for guys to get into a rhythm. You have a fallacy of logic called appeal to expertise: that because someone does something for a living, they’re right and anyone who disagrees must be wrong. Renteria and Cooper mismanaged that game; if I was the only one saying it, fine, you can say I’m wrong, but I bet there are more who agree with me on this than who agree with Rick.
What is funny Cey Hey is that you do not see it.
Yes! As much as I liked Renteria personally, when he said that winning the division was not a priority and then went on to give it back to the Twins – was terrible. The WS were never going to win a World Series this year, but winning the division and making the playoffs would have been awesome. Instead, he just embarrassed us. LOL Glad that we are moving on.
So I guess Renteria only has the permission to manage a loser?
No, he had an opportunity to show that he could manage a winning team, and he failed miserably.
The players seem to like him, which is good, and he does seem to be good at developing talent. However, he doesn’t seem very good when there’s an actual game going on. The White Sox should have won the division, or at least had home field advantage in the first round, and they blew it. Part is on the players, but Renteria is to blame as well.
I don’t really follow the whitesoxs but this the same dude that kept hitting Anderson 7 last year right??? Maybe managing wasn’t for him lol
Anyone think Sandy Alomar has a chance. He was a finalist a few years ago?
Sandy has no shot per Hahns description
The club generally looked good, but it was obvious that Renteria has zero feel for the game and panics in tight situations. He also just makes some truly baffling moves that leave you scratching your head. But with this move, the team has been put on notice, which I like. I also admit that I am absolutely terrified at the thought of who might replace Renteria.
Rick seems like a good guy and I wish him well, hopefully he can focus more on his health now.
Omar visquel
Vizquel
Next year your starting right fielder will be either Oscar Luis Solas or Yoelkis Cespedes.
Some managers are viewed as guys to get a team through a rebuild and others are viewed as guys that can lead contenders.
I mentioned Mike Scioscia and Ron Washington earlier, but Vizquel or Alomar would also be candidates. Much was said about how the players liked Ricky because he could speak Spanish with them. Some might not like it, but when two thirds of your (young) starting lineup is comprised of Cubans and Dominicans, it might not be a bad idea.
Of course,if the Dodgers don’t win the World Series, then Dave Roberts would be the ideal choice if he is let go.
So if Roberts fails again with the Dodgers then he is your perfect choice?
Say goodbye to EE, Rodon, Gio, Nomar, Collins, & Reynald Lopez. Kopeck opting out may have kept the Sox from winning the division. My want list is for another veteran starter, a Rf, a veteran closer if the Sox don’t resign Colome & bring back McCann.
A.J. Hinch, Alex Cora or Brad Ausmus will be the next white sox manager. I’ll go with Alex Cora. I’m 80% sure of this
Alex Cora will be managing the BoSox in 2021, book it
Say goodbye to EE, Rodon, Gio, Nomar, Collins, & Reynald Lopez. Kopeck opting out may have kept the Sox from winning the division. My want list is for another veteran starter, a Rf, a veteran closer if the Sox don’t resign Colome & bring back McCann.
They may get a starter, but I don’t think they’ve given up on Cease. Dunning needs to be stretched out a little and the third spot in the rotation is Kopech’s to lose. Should they shock everyone and get Bauer, then sure, Cease goes back to the minors or the pen. Stroman would also be probably worth that, and maybe Taijuan Walker. Other than that, I’d want them to roll with the rotation they have. Getting Lopez and Rodon out and putting Kopech in is a major upgrade.
A closer is a nice to have thing, but they already have Bummer and potentially Crochet. They could also try a closer-by-committee approach until one of their other young guys stands out. It’s already a solid pen.
I don’t think they’ll bring back McCann. He’s earned a starter’s deal and starter’s playing time. He’ll get that somewhere. The Sox also gave a big deal to Grandal and have Collins waiting in the minors.
RF and DH are the two areas I most want them to be aggressive in. I know they have Vaughn in the minors, but my dream is they steal Cruz away from the Twins on a 1-yr deal with an option for a second. For RF, almost anyone represents an upgrade over Mazara. If I were Hahn, I’d look for some bullpen help as well, but this team, provided it’s healthy, doesn’t have too many glaring holes.
Ozzie Guillen
That was a stupid move Cubs did it it helped for one year . 2016