“White Sox sign Will Venable as new manager after MLB-record 121-loss season: report”.

The Chicago White Sox have decided who will take over a dugout that just endured one of the worst seasons in MLB history.

The team is hiring former MLB outfielder Will Venable, currently the Texas Rangers' assistant manager behind Bruce Bochy, as its next manager, MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports. Venable will replace Pedro Grifol, who was sacked in August.

The news came on Tuesday evening, on Venable's birthday. It also broke right after the New York Yankees' Game 4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, so never let it be said that the White Sox didn't make headlines in the 2024 Fall Classic.

Venable, 42, played 967 games for the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers in his nine-year MLB career, building a reputation as a great clubhouse presence even while working as a fourth outfielder.

After his playing days ended, Venable moved to the Chicago Cubs as a special assistant to then team president Theo Epstein. He served as the team's base coach for the next three seasons. In 2021, Venable was a reserve coach with the Boston Red Sox and joined Bochy's Rangers team in 2022.

Venable became a World Series champion in 2023 as the Rangers won the Commissioner's Trophy for the first time in franchise history.

What can Venable do for the White Sox?

Venable won't get off to a great start on Chicago's south side, to say the least.

We don't need to go through every little indignity the White Sox suffered in 2024, but it boils down to losing the most games in MLB history, with a record of 41-121, the three losing streak of at least 12 games had. One of those lasted 21 games and set an AL record.

Every facet of the White Sox was a disaster in 2024. Your lineup? They scored the fewest runs in the MLB at 507, almost 100 fewer than the second-worst Miami Marlins. Your baserunning? Bottom 10 in the league by Fangraphs' base running runs metric. Your rotation? It ranked 25th in the MLB in ERA at 4.62, despite having two good players in Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde. Your bullpen ERA? At 4.73, the third worst in the MLB. Your commitment? He was last in defensive runs saved at minus-87.

Venable still has a lot of work to do, but there's not much he can do while the key people responsible for the Sox' 2024 season are still in office. Jerry Reinsdorf is still the owner of this team and is almost certainly not expected to spend the money it would take to make the franchise a regular contender, and general manager Chris Getz has been a key part of it since 2017 Team front office.

Still, Venable can do some good by simply maintaining a positive clubhouse as the team prepares for another year of rebuilding.