The White Sox announced today that manager Will Venable’s coaching staff will be overhauled this winter. Specifically, the club announced that they will not be renewing the contracts of pitching coach Ethan Katz, hitting coach Marcus Thames, first base coach Jason Bourgeois, and catching coach Drew Butera. James Fegan of Sox Machine adds that Sergio Santos, who manages the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte, will also not have his contract renewed. Chicago’s announcement goes on to note that offensive coordinator (and former interim manager) Grady Sizemore will be offered a role within the organization for 2026, although USA Today’s Bob Nightengale clarifies that he’ll be reassigned if he decides to remain with the team.
The news nearly entirely eliminates holdovers from former manager Pedro Grifol’s coaching staff, which led the White Sox to a season that saw them post the season with the most losses in modern MLB history. Bench coach Walker McKinven and assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan were both hired by Venable last winter. Third base/infield coach Justin Jirschele was hired shortly after Grifol was dismissed in August 2024, meaning that the only remaining member of Grifol’s staff if Sizemore departs the organization or is reassigned into a non-coaching role would be assistant pitching coach Matt Wise.
While virtually any team would look good next to the 2024 White Sox, the 2025 iteration of the club was still among the worst teams in baseball. Their 60-102 record gave them the second-worst record in the sport, behind only the Rockies’s disastrous 119-loss season. While there were some positive signs, such as strong showings from rookies Kyle Teel and Colson Montgomery as well as the emergence of Rule 5 pick Shane Smith, it’s impossible to deny that there was more bad than good for Chicago this year. Outside of Teel and Montgomery, their best hitter was 34-year-old Mike Tauchman, who was non-tendered last offseason and will be a free agent after the 2026 campaign. Andrew Benintendi may have rebounded to post league average offensive production this year, but that’s not likely to help them clear the $32.2MM remaining on his contract off their books.
With young players emerging from the minors to take significant roles on the team and a .333 winning percentage over the past three seasons, it’s understandable that White Sox brass would feel it’s time for a larger-scale change. That’s particularly true for Venable, who will be able to hand-pick the replacements for these coaches who had been in the organization prior to his arrival last offseason. A new coaching staff for 2026 should provide both Venable and the club as a whole a fresh start headed into 2026, which will be the first full season both Montgomery and Teel spend in the majors as well as an opportunity for fellow youngsters like Chase Meidroth and Edgar Quero to take a step forward after getting their feet wet in the big leagues this year.
Teel is looking really, really good. I’ll be watching his progress in the coming years.
Whitesox won 50% more games
And have best chances of #1 pick
Things r looking good in south chicago
Hopefully they fail and fall in lottery
So, you’re basically saying that they are on a path to become the Pittsburgh Pirates. If you’ve ever been to the south side of Chicago, then chanderbing you are correct….becoming the Pirates would define looking good.
The biggest positive in my mind and many Sox fans is the arrival of new minority owner Justin Ishbia and his eventual replacement of Jerry Reinsdorf by the end of the decade. :-)
Bingo, along with his promise of a cash infusion to be spent on on-field talent starting this off-season.
How exactly is a guy who’s broke going to make a huge cash infusion? Inquiring minds want to know.
My goodness, “chandlerbing” just when I thought you couldn’t get more hyperbolic and quick to exaggerations…
I think he just spends all day refreshing this site and hoopsrumors and fires off whatever first-thought nonsense he can on every article. He’s also obsessed with the Mets for some reason.
I’m a little surprised. I though the young talent was brought along well throughout the course of the season. Things got much brighter on the South Side this year versus the previous. And they have proven….it can always get worse. It got 19 games better.
I guess improving journeymen pitchers had nothing to do with Ethan Katz. Idiots.
agreed. .I thought Katz did well as did Thames. I’ll be interested to see their replacements.
Ehhh overhauling the coaching staff is fine imo.
I recognize most those names as marginal players. I guess this is step one in getting old.
I trust Venable… he’s seen plenty of effective MLB coaching staffs with Maddon, Cora and Bochy. I like Grady, but shedding everything that stinks of the Grifol era is the way.
Thank God that lame POS Katz is gone. Now fire the training staff and Doctors and maybe pitchers will have a chance now.
My thoughts when I saw Bob Melvin and company shown the door was too bad it didn’t happen last year. Then reality set in and I realized they probably would not have been interested in working for the White Sox. My opinion is Venable will eventually be a fine manager. He needs more time to learn. I also believe Ethan Katz and a few of the other assistants let go are decent coaches. For those that believe the White Sox will keep losing 100 games watch and see. This will be the last season for awhile with a triple digit loss column. Don’t count on Ishbia being a savior either.