The Candidates To Become White Sox Manager

At this point this article might be moot, but it’s well worth discussing. The Chicago White Sox are in a search for a new manager and there's a few candidates to consider. Let’s face it, the Tony La Russa hire was terrible right from the get go and it was obviously disastrous. Obviously wish him the best health wise, but he shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. That being said, this process will finally give general manager Rick Hahn free reign of whom to hire as the manager. That being said, let’s take a look at the candidates.

Joe Espada

This should be the guy the Sox hire. Not sure what’s not to like about him as he’s been the Houston Astros bench coach under Dusty Baker and he is really into analytics. While there have been conflicting reports about him being hired and another from Scott Merkin of MLB.com saying he is out of the running, we won't know anything until it's official. Merkin is a reputable source, but the Pale Hose have not confirmed this as of this writing. There’s so much to like about Espada as he’s been a hot name on the market, is into analytics, and is coming from a winning culture. Win win win!

Pedro Grifol

A name that popped out of nowhere, Grifol has impressed the White Sox front office and has a very good chance of becoming the manager. Grifol is the bench coach of the Kansas City Royals, but also has experience working in the front office as he was the Seattle Mariners’ director of minor league operations. He does have some managerial experience as he was the manager at High Desert in Seattle’s system in 2012 as well as in winter leagues in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Grifol has also been a scout and coordinator of instruction. However, while impressive as he might be, he doesn’t fit the criteria that Hahn outlined earlier in the process of having “recent experience in the dugout with an organization that has contended for championships.” Keep an eye out on him though.

Ron Washington

Some will hate this as his age is a “problem” being in his 70’s, but Washington has an impressive resume and should get more consideration than he is now. Washington showed how good of a manager he can be with the Texas Rangers having made two straight World Series in 2010 and 2011, plus leading them to multiple playoff appearances and winning seasons. Despite the problems leading him to leaving the club, he’s stayed on in a coaching role in the majors as he’s been the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves and even helped them win a World Series title last year. On top of that, Washington has been lauded for his ability to help teams get better defensively, something that could benefit the Pale Hose immensely. While maybe there are better options at manager for the Sox, they should seriously consider him for the position or at least a coaching role in the dugout such as bench coach. Don’t knock on him, Washington is an excellent candidate.

Kevin Long

This one might come as a shocker to some White Sox fans as he’s the hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies who are currently in the World Series. However, there’s been a lot of buzz about him as multiple teams, including the Pale Hose, are intrigued. Phillies players seem to like him a lot, plus with his hitting philosophy, it could help the offense immensely and could mesh well with current hitting coach Frank Menechino’s approach. Long actually does have some managerial experience as he managed in the Royals’ system for three seasons from 1997-99. Since then, he’s been a hitting coach in Royals’ system as well as the New York Yankees before becoming the Yankees hitting coach in 2007 as he helped them win a World Series in 2009 and then has been in the same position with the New York Mets, Washington Nationals (whom he won a World Series with in 2019), and now Phillies. Long has had a chance to be a manager before as he interviewed with the Mets. Long has had a long track record of players flourishing under his approach which makes him all the more intriguing to become the manager. His track record of being very popular with players is a massive boost too as that would go great with such a young and talented group in the White Sox.

Miguel Cairo

Cairo seemed to help bring the team back from the dead after taking over from La Russa, but the team also went into a tailspin at the end of the season before winning again to finish off 81-81. Cairo was putting together sensible lineups, calling himself out for his mistakes as well as the players’ lack of energy and accountability, and for the most part made some good in-game decisions. Does that mean he should be the manager? Hold your horses, not quite yet should he be the manager as some of the decisions he made were absolutely atrocious including allowing Leury Garcia to hit in a crucial point which then ended the game. Those decisions are good enough reasons to suggest Cairo is not quite ready. That being said, Cairo should still remain with the team in some capacity as he has shown the ability to lead and hold players accountable. He did get an interview, but it’s likely he won’t get the job.

Matt Quatraro

Quatraro is an underrated pick as he is the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays. Like Espada, Quatraro is also analytically driven as evidenced by how successful the Rays have been recently using analytics. While an experienced coach, Quatraro has no experience managing and that might be a knock on him during these interviews, but it is no doubt he has some of the things the front office is looking for. How he hasn’t gotten a more serious look is beyond some.

Ozzie Guillen

Just no. Just stop. To even consider him is absolutely ridiculous and the fact that Guillen has even gotten an interview is beyond ludicrous. Guillen might have helped the club to a World Series in 2005, but that’s not recent success plus he hasn’t managed since 2012. Do you know who has more recent success than Guillen? La Russa. Sure, Guillen did call out La Russa a lot last year on the post game show on NBC Sports Chicago and probably would’ve done a better job than him, but that doesn’t mean he should be the manager in 2023. Guillen might have said he knows the club better than anyone, but that doesn’t mean he would do a good job. Guillen has also shown some of his past antics are not past him as he blocked fellow White Sox writer Sleepy Harold of Future Sox after Harold tweeted that Guillen shouldn’t be manager and even owner Jerry Reinsdorf has said he’s burned some bridges. Plus, Guillen has shown in the past that he actually wasn’t that great of a manager with some of his in-game decisions. Fans need to stop acting like 2005 is a good enough reason to bring him back and come back down to reality. Maybe the writer of this article will get blocked on Twitter for even saying Guillen shouldn’t.

Others Who Should Be Considered

Willie Harris

This name has suddenly come up as someone to be considered as Harris is another former Sox player who has ties. However, while an impressive resume as a minor league manager and coach, he’s only held a baserunning and outfield coordinator position for the Cincinnati Reds and since 2020 has been the third base coach for the Cubs, which doesn’t help his case to be a major league manager as it would seem better for him be in the league longer and/or have been a bench coach. That being said, he has the pedigree to be a future manager in the league and current Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman has endorsed him.

Sandy Alomar Jr.

Alomar has been a hot commodity for a while and even has done some managing for Cleveland when current manager Terry Francona had to step away for health reasons. There's speculation that he is the heir to Guardians’ managerial job once Francona retires, but he does have ties to the Sox as he did play for them for a few seasons. Alomar is also fluent in Spanish which also helps. He is a person who needs to be seriously considered considering he has extensive experience as a coach.