There are reportedly only three finalists left in the White Sox managerial search

The White Sox are looking for a new manager and could be getting closer to a decision. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today

As Nightengale noted, this could lead to an interesting standoff. The Sox are one of two clubs, along with the Marlins, looking for a new manager. Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reported yesterday that Venable and Albernaz are the two finalists for the Marlins job, so there's a lot of overlap in the two searches.

Nevin, 53, appears to be the only name on the Sox' radar, but not the Marlins. The New York Post's Jon Heyman listed him as a candidate a few weeks ago and it appears Nevin is still in the running. He is also the only one in the group who already has leadership experience. He was working as the Angels' third base coach in 2022 when manager Joe Maddon was fired. The club gave Nevin the job temporarily and eventually re-signed him for the 2023 season, but did not renew his contract after that.

During his time there, the club posted a 119-149 record, but that may not say much about his ability as a captain. The club also recorded poor results before and after their exit, meaning the poor record is likely due to squad composition rather than a lack of leadership.

After parting ways with the Angels, Nevin applied for the manager's job in San Diego, but that job went to Mike Shildt and Nevin did not get another job for the 2024 season. Before joining the Angels, he spent about a decade as a player in the majors before turning to coaching. He worked in Indy Ball and then in the minors with the Tigers and Diamondbacks. He then had major league coaching jobs with the Giants and Yankees before landing with the Angels.

Venable is also a former player with a lot of coaching experience. He was the base coach for the Cubs during the 2018-2020 season before becoming the relief coach for the Red Sox. He has been assistant manager of Rangers under captain Bruce Bochy for the last two years.

He was listed as a candidate for a managerial position with the Guardians and Mets last winter, but reportedly declined an interview because he was happy with the Rangers. Now it seems that he is thinking more about a change. Heyman reported yesterday that Venable was in Miami to do an interview for this gig, and a move to Chicago's South Side also appears to be feasible.

Albernaz never made it to the majors as a player and spent nearly a decade in the minors from 2006 to 2014. He then began his coaching career in the Rays' minor league system. Prior to the 2020 season, he was added to the Giants' major league staff as a bullpen and catching coach. A year ago, the Guardians hired him as a replacement coach, working under new manager Stephen Vogt.

Some have speculated that Albernaz is the favorite for the Miami job because of his history with Peter Bendix, the Marlins' president of baseball operations. When Albernaz coached for the Rays in their junior season, Bendix worked for that club and eventually became general manager in December 2021.

Pedro Grifol was fired as manager of the White Sox last season and temporarily replaced by Grady Sizemore. Sizemore has been identified as a candidate to take over the post permanently, but Nightengale's report suggests he is behind that trio of Venable, Albernaz and Nevin.

Many other names have been linked to the job, but many have reportedly been sidelined, including former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, the Cardinals' bench coach, Daniel Descalso, the Tigers' bench coach, and George Lombard, the bench coach and offensive coordinator of the Rangers, Donnie Ecker, Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough and Padres special assistant AJ Ellis.

Generally, teams are discouraged from announcing big news on days when there is a playoff game. Even if the White Sox make a final decision soon, it may not be publicly announced until the World Series ends or Thursday's off day arrives.