White Sox Granted Permission to Interview Rangers' Will Venable, Donnie Ecker For Manager Job

According to a report from the Dallas Morning News, the Chicago White Sox are set to interview Texas Rangers associate manager Will Venable and bench coach Donnie Ecker for their open manager position.

Oct 4, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (left) and bench coach/offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker (right) celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in game two of the Wildcard series for the 2023 MLB playoffs at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have granted the Chicago White Sox permission to interview bench coach and offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker and associate manager Will Venable for their open manager position, the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant reported Thursday.

Venable emerged as a potential candidate for the White Sox last week, while Ecker's name surfaced within the past few days. Both were on manager Bruce Bochy's staff when the Rangers won the World Series last year.

Ecker, 38, spent four seasons in the minors coming out of Long Beach State before retiring and becoming a high school coach. He returned to the professional ranks in 2015, holding various positions in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league system over the next three years.

From there, Ecker spent one year as a hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels' Triple-A affiliate, then he finally reached the big leagues with the Cincinnati Reds in 2019. After spending the next two seasons under manager Gabe Kapler with the San Francisco Giants, Ecker finally made his way to Arlington.

Whereas Ecker never reached the majors as a player, Venable spent eight seasons as an outfielder with the San Diego Padres. Thanks to his speed and defense, Venable racked up a 13.0 WAR across his nine-year MLB career.

Venable was a first base coach, then a third base coach, with the Chicago Cubs from 2018 to 2020, on top of being a special assistant to team president Theo Epstein. He became the Boston Red Sox's bench coach under Alex Cora in 2021, managing seven games over the next two seasons before going to Texas in 2023.

Considering Bochy is set to turn 70 years old in April, the 41-year-old Venable had previously been positioned as the successor to the four-time World Series champion. Venable reportedly declined to interview with the New York Mets when they were looking for a manager last offseason.

Now, the door is open for Venable to take a major promotion yet again. Ecker is up for that same promotion, even though he is three years younger and carries far less name value than Venable.

The job that Venable and Ecker are in the running for isn't exactly the most coveted in baseball, considering the White Sox lost an MLB-record 121 games in 2024. Manager Pedro Grifol got dismissed in August, leading to former All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore temporarily filling in for him down the stretch.

There is supposedly a chance that Sizemore is brought back as the full-time manager, shedding the interim tag after rounding out the regular season with a 13-32 record. Former Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker has also been mentioned as a potential fit, as have New York Mets special assistant Carlos Beltran, Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso, former Angels manager Phil Nevin, Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann, Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard and Padres special assistant to the general manager AJ Ellis.

And with longtime owner Jerry Reinsdorf reportedly open to selling the team, there remain plenty of question marks around the White Sox's managerial opening with so many candidates still on the shortlist.

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