White Sox announce 2025 coaching staff

The White Sox announced their 2025 coaching staff on Monday at the Winter Meetings. 

Returning coaches are marked by asterisks, and there are several of those. Here it is:

• Manager: Will Venable 
• Bench coach: Walker McKinven
• Pitching Coach: Ethan Katz*
• Hitting coach: Marcus Thames*
• Offensive coordinator: Grady Sizemore*
• First base/outfield coach: Jason Bourgeois*
• Third base/infield coach: Justin Jirschele*
• Assistant pitching coach: Matt Wise*
• Assistant hitting coach: Joel McKeithan
• Catching coach: Drew Butera*

We've got 10 names on this list, and seven of them are back from last year's 121-loss campaign. Isn't it interesting that Venable, the new manager, didn't bring anyone with him from the Texas Rangers, where he previously served as bench coach? 

Katz, of course, will be working for his third managerial regime. Thames, Sizemore, Bourgeois, Wise and Butera were all hired by general manager Chris Getz before the 2024 season. Jirschele is an organizational guy who worked his way up the ranks as a minor league manager. He was promoted to third base coach in the middle of the season when Getz fired former manager Pedro Grifol and all of his henchmen.

Basically, this staff was assembled by the front office and not the manager. Is that a problem? Not necessarily, but it's something to keep an eye on.

The other thing that stands out: The Sox have an "offensive coordinator," in addition to a hitting coach and an assistant hitting coach. 

The Sox scored a league-worst 507 runs in 2024. The next lowest output in the American League came from the Tampa Bay Rays, who scored nearly 100 runs more (604). So, theoretically, the Sox could use all the offensive coaching they can get. 

However, there does come a point of *too much* information. Hopefully, this doesn't become a situation where the Sox have too many cooks in the kitchen. Again, it may be nothing. It's just something to keep an eye on.

White Sox score 14 runs in ninth inning to beat Dodgers

Leury Garcia

Let's be honest: Most spring training games are not worth much analysis. However, it gets your attention when a team scores 14 runs in one inning.

While most of the world was sleeping late Sunday night, the White Sox entered the ninth inning trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1. They ended up winning the game, 15-5, after one of the most bizarre half-innings I've ever heard on the radio. (The game was not televised.)

The Sox batted around twice -- sending 18 men to the plate -- and scored 14 runs on only seven hits. A few highlights:

• Luis Alexander Basabe, an outfielder who was acquired in the Chris Sale deal, had a two-run single to put the Sox ahead, 5-3.
• Yoan Moncada, the team's top prospect, had a two-run double. Previously in the game, he had struck out in four consecutive plate appearances.
• Longtime minor-leaguer Jason Bourgeois had five RBIs in the inning. He had a two-run single in his first AB of the rally, and he capped the Sox's scoring with a three-run homer. 
• The Dodgers committed four errors, walked three men and hit two batters. So, the Sox were gifted nine baserunners, in addition to the seven hits they had.

The Dodgers probably could not have done any worse in that inning if they had just gone out there and lit themselves on fire. Sure, it was a collection of Double-A and Triple-A players on the field, but no professional team should be giving up that many runs in one inning.

That rally capped an interesting Sunday for the Sox, who also lost, 10-8, to the Texas Rangers in the other half of a split-squad day. In that game, the Sox scored all eight of their runs in the sixth inning.

So, to recap, the Sox had 18 offensive innings Sunday. They scored 23 runs, but they did it in the most bizarre fashion possible -- a 14-run inning, an 8-run inning, an inning with a single run scored, plus 15 innings with no runs at all.

I have to admit, I'm getting a little worried that Leury Garcia is going to make the team. He's got a slash line of .419/.500/.919 in 30 spring plate appearances. He had four hits against Texas on Sunday. But he also made two egregious mistakes on the basepaths, and at shortstop, he butchered a rundown play that allowed the Rangers to score a gift run.

I'm getting a little tired of hearing about Garcia's "versatility" being an asset. Sure, he plays multiple positions, but he plays them all poorly, so who cares? And, yes, he has speed, but he makes dumb outs on the bases, so who cares?

We know that Garcia feasts on Triple-A pitching -- he hit .313 at Charlotte in 2016 -- and that's what he's doing in this spring camp. Here's to hoping the Sox are not fooled. This is a player who makes mental mistake after mental mistake and does not belong on the roster.