White Sox announce 2023 coaching staff

Daryl Boston

The White Sox have announced the complete list of coaches who will work for new manager Pedro Grifol. And here they are:

• Bench coach: Charlie Montoyo
• Pitching coach: Ethan Katz
• Bullpen coach: Curt Hasler
• Hitting coach: José Castro
• Assistant hitting coach: Chris Johnson
• First-base coach: Daryl Boston
• Third-base coach: Eddie Rodríguez
• Major League field coordinator: Mike Tosar
• Senior director of sports performance: Geoff Head

There are names both familiar and unfamiliar to Sox fans on this list. Montoyo, of course, started last season as the Toronto Blue Jays manager before being fired midseason. At the time of Grifol's hiring, it was mentioned that Montoyo would be coming aboard as bench coach. Katz and Hasler are holdovers from the Tony La Russa regime.

Castro comes to the Sox from the Atlanta Braves. He was their assistant hitting coach for the past eight years. Based on that, I think fans can be optimistic about this hire. The Braves are a successful organization; they are just 13 months removed from winning the 2021 World Series championship, and they were a division winner again in 2022. Johnson, a former MLB infielder, earns a promotion to the big-league level after earnings good reviews as the hitting coach at Triple-A Charlotte last season.

Rodriguez is a baseball lifer. He's 63 years old, and he's been coaching for 40 years. Like Grifol, he comes from the Kansas City organization, where he was a minor-league field coordinator. He's known for being a good infield coach, which the Sox could surely use. Basically, he's a replacement for Joe McEwing, who left on La Russa's coattails.

Tosar also comes from the Kansas City, where he served as a hitting coach. I'm not entirely sure how we define the role of Major League field coordinator, but I'm assuming it's a promotion for Tosar. Otherwise, the Royals might not have let him out of his contract.

Head spent the last three seasons as the senior director of health and performance with the Cincinnati Reds. Perhaps most notably, he owns three World Series rings from his tenure with the San Francisco Giants, which spanned from 2008-19. He had three different titles there -- strength and conditioning coordinator, Major League sports scientist, and assistant director of player development/director of sports medicine.

And then ... we get to Daryl Boston. The Sox just can't quit him. Grifol will be the fourth manager for whom Boston has worked. Under La Russa, Boston was in charge of baserunning and outfield defense. As all Sox fans are aware, the team has been absolutely terrible in those two areas.

I'm not sure why Boston was retained, but the folks on Twitter seem to believe he excels as a spy for Ken Williams. I have no evidence of that, but I wish I could laugh it off as being ridiculous. Alas, given the dysfunction in the Sox organization, anything seems plausible.

If the Sox fail in 2023 and start yet another rebuild, you can count on two things: Leury Garcia will still be on the 26-man roster, and Daryl Boston will still be on the coaching staff. They are immovable objects.

Nick Swisher released by Braves

Nick Swisher

The Atlanta Braves released veteran outfielder and first baseman Nick Swisher on Monday.

The 35-year-old former White Sox knucklehead hit just .195 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 46 games for Atlanta last season. Here's the funniest line from the AP story:

"There was no room for [Swisher] on the roster after the Braves signed Kelly Johnson, Jeff Francoeur, Gordon Beckham and Emilio Bonifacio to contend for spots on the bench."

Yes, it's true, Swisher's career has bottomed out to the point that Beckham and Bonifacio are considered better uses for roster spots on a rebuilding Atlanta team than he is.

Swisher is set to make $15 million this year, but the Cleveland Indians are paying most of that bill after trading Swisher and outfielder Michael Bourn to the Braves last season in exchange for third baseman Chris Johnson. Any team can now sign Swisher for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum.

I was horrified this morning to see the Sox listed as one of six possible landing spots for Swisher, according to an article on cbssports.com. Other teams listed are the Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland.

Swisher has hit just .224/.315/.373 in the three years since he signed a four-year, $56 million contract with the Indians. He has stunk for a long time. He's coming off surgeries on both his knees. He's 35 years old. I'd say he's done.

I hope the Sox stay far, far away from this guy. When Swisher was with the Sox in 2008, his nickname was "Dirty 30," as he wore uniform No. 30. I called him "Dirty .230" because that's about all he could hit.

At this point, a .230 average from Swisher would qualify as wishful thinking for any team that signs him.