GLENDALE, Ariz. — So far, so good.
A week into spring training, three days into full-squad workouts and three days from left-hander Jared Shuster throwing the first pitch against the Cubs in the Cactus League opener, White Sox general manager Chris Getz is feeling fine about his choice for a manager.
Not that you would expect otherwise, but Getz, who zeroed in on Will Venable from the beginning of an exhaustive search process, likes what he is seeing and hearing.
Venable “is so clear-headed,” Getz said. “He thinks ahead. He’s collaborative. He’s creative. Some of the conversations we’ve had about how to deploy lineups, defensive versatility and how to position ourselves well to win ballgames, he has a mind for it that is certainly welcomed.”
This is Venable’s first job managing, and he comes well-regarded after a playing career and then coaching under managers Joe Maddon, Alex Cora and Bruce Bochy, most recently as Bochy’s assistant manager. He could have waited and landed a job with a more successful organization, but the Sox felt right to him, even though they might be hard pressed to improve on a record-setting season for losses in 2024.
He feels right for the Sox.
“He and Walker [McKinven] are going to be a great team together from a manager/bench coach standpoint,” Getz said. “But Will, and it’s not a surprise to me, he has tremendous communication skills with players. You see how attentive they are, and that bodes well for managing a staff as well.”
Joey Gallo, a former teammate, said Venable had manager’s chops already as a player.
“When I played with him I thought, ‘He’s going to manage one day,’ ” said Gallo, signed to a minor league deal this week with a chance to make the major league team.
“There’s guys you’re around in the clubhouse that have manager type vibes and are very respected throughout all of baseball, respected throughout the whole clubhouse,” Gallo said. “He was one of those guys always, was always helping younger guys. And you could tell he had a natural leadership type of personality. It was easy to see that he would be a manager one day.”
Venable said he bought into Getz’ vision and that hasn’t changed now that the sound of baseballs hitting bats and gloves are in the warm Arizona air.
“To see it play out over the last couple months and now here in the camp has been amazing,” Venable said after Wednesday’s workouts. “We understand we have work to do, and we’re excited to do it.”
Getz said he’s more impressed every time he is around Venable. He began with 30 names in the hiring process but already thought highly of the 42-year old former outfielder.
“He was well-positioned going in and didn’t disappoint,” Getz said. “It showed pretty early that he was probably going to be a final candidate, let’s put it that way.”
Getz inherited manager Pedro Grifol, who was fired last August during the dog days of a 121-loss season. This is his second full season, and he says his experience has him feeling “much more confident” on the job.
What a big job he has, trying to put the franchise back to respectability after its most humiliating season since the Black Sox scandal.
“From the beginning I had a vision of where I wanted to take the organization,” said Getz, who oversaw the farm system from 2017-23, the last three of those years as assistant GM to Rick Hahn. “We’ve been able to execute in a number of areas, within the foundational makeup of an organization. The major league level is the most important but we feel so many processes have improved and are in a good place, and they’re going to show up at the major league level. We hope that happens soon.”