White Sox managerial buzz, part whatever

With Joe Espada reported out, is there no place like home for Ozzie Guillén?

There were several managerial openings as the 2022 MLB season wrapped up. The White Sox, Royals, Marlins, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Phillies were all looking to find the perfect fit.

Since that time, only the Royals and White Sox openings still remain. The Rangers hired Bruce Bochy to a three-year contract, and the Marlins hired the Cardinals’ bench coach, Skip Schumaker. Additionally, the Blue Jays removed the interim tag from manager John Schneider, and the Phillies gave Rob Thomson a two-year extension.

While the White Sox have remained silent with any official news regarding the managerial search, social media has been abuzz with all kinds of rumors over the last several weeks.

Thus far, rumblings have it that the Sox have interviewed Joe Espada, Ozzie Guillén, Ron Washington, Miguel Cairo, Matt Quatraro, and Pedro Grifol. Kevin Long, the current Phillies’ hitting coach, is a more recent addition to the list.

A few of the newest updates have come over the past 24 hours. Yesterday, MLB’s Scott Merkin and Bruce Levine both made statements concerning the search.

Some fans were disappointed when Merkin tweeted that Joe Espada is no longer in the running.

In Rick Hahn’s end-of-the-year press conference, he listed several criteria that the Sox were looking for in their next manager. These included recent championship dugout experience, strong communication, and the ability to fuse old-school sensibilities with the modern-day version of the game. Espada, current bench coach of the ALCS champion Houston Astros, appeared to check off those boxes and seemed like a good fit for Chicago.

The next update came from MLB analyst Bruce Levine. He told 670 the Score that Guillén has not been ruled out. According to NBC Sports Chicago’s Chuck Garfien, Guillén had interviewed on Monday, October 24, with the White Sox front office. Guillén, who last managed for the Marlins in 2012, has not been in the dugout since leaving Miami. However, Guillén has recently been close to the White Sox team serving as a pre and post-game on-air studio analyst for NBC Sports Chicago since 2019. Guillén expressed interest in the job at the close of the season, saying on air that “Nobody in baseball knows this ballclub better than Ozzie Guillén.”

Besides the recent championship experience, Guillén seems to fit Hahn’s other criteria as well. This news appeared to drum up mixed emotions from fans.

With the World Series stretching out over the next week, we can assume that official news regarding the search will not come until after its conclusion. So, enjoy watching some real baseball, and hope whoever the White Sox hire will have us playing October baseball in 2023.