The White Sox are expected to officially announce their 2025 coaching staff within the next week Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the club will retain most of its incumbent coaches. As for the new faces, first-time manager Will Venable will also be joined by replacement coach Walker McKinven (who has been hired). reported from Venable two weeks ago), hitting director Ryan Fuller and a new assistant hitting coach whose identity has not yet been announced.
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 expected to return. Grady Sizemore will also return to the coaching staff after serving as interim manager for Chicago when Pedro Grifol was fired in early August. Interim coach Doug Sisson and interim assistant hitting coach Mike Gellinger will not return to those roles but are expected to move on to other jobs within the organization.
While the White Sox didn't feel the need to completely overhaul the coaching staff after a 121-loss season, it's important to remember that many of these coaches were already relatively new to the organization. Thames, Wise, Bourgeois and Butera were all hired last offseason, and Jirschele was brought in last August when former third base coach Eddie Rodriguez was also fired, along with Grifol and former backup coach Charlie Montoyo.
After the worst season in modern baseball history, there's really no other way out for the White Sox than to go up, although Venable and his staff will have another long year ahead of them as the Sox continue their rebuild. Obviously, no wins are expected for now as Venable and the coaches face the greater challenge of helping develop the team's younger players and making changes allegedly became a toxic clubhouse culture.
