The White Sox are shaking up their coaching staff.
On Wednesday, the team announced that they were not renewing the contracts of pitching coach Ethan Katz, hitting coach Marcus Thames, first base coach Jason Bourgeois, and catching coach Drew Butera.
Meanwhile, Grady Sizemore, who served as interim manager in 2024 and as offensive coordinator in 2025, will be offered a role with the organization next season in a yet-to-be-determined role.
The coaching changes come as something of a surprise. Katz, who joined the White Sox in 2021, earned praise for his work with pitchers like Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Garrett Crochet, and Shane Smith. However, the White Sox pitching staff ranked 20th in the MLB with a 4.26 ERA last season, marking the third straight year the team has ranked in the bottom 10 in baseball.
While not all of that can be pinned on Katz, given the roster’s limitations, his departure — despite what appeared to be strong ties within the organization — signals a clear shift in direction on the South Side.
When Will Venable was hired as manager, he inherited his staff rather than selecting it himself. Marcus Thames served as hitting coach in 2024, while Ryan Fuller joined in the offseason as director of hitting. Jason Bourgeois completed his first year as first base coach, and Drew Butera has been the catching coach for the past two seasons.
The cleaning of the house will now allow Venable to bring in his own staff to reflect the culture he wants to build.
“While we greatly appreciate all that Ethan, Marcus, Jason, and Drew have done for this organization, Will and I have agreed on the very difficult decision to make several changes to our coaching staff in 2026,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz wrote in a release. “Our respect for these coaches as people and as professionals made these decisions difficult, and we thank them for their many contributions. Our commitment remains to provide the best possible vision, ideas, and resources to our players to support their continuing growth and development.”
Filling the Open Roles
The White Sox will now begin the search to fill their open coaching roles. Venable likely could have reshuffled the staff ahead of his first season, but instead waited a year to evaluate the group already in place.
Two of his hires from last winter, bench coach Walker McKinven and assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan, are expected to return. Third base coach Justin Jirschele, brought in after Pedro Grifol was dismissed midway through the 2024 season, also remains.
That leaves assistant pitching coach Matt Wise as the only other coach hired by Grifol still listed on the White Sox coaching staff.
Under Venable’s leadership, the team lost 100 games for the third straight season, but improved by 19 games from the year before with 60 wins. While inheriting a team coming off a historic 41-win season, left nowhere to go but up, Venable’s squad showed plenty of signs of promise.
Top prospects Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Grant Taylor, and Shane Smith emerged as viable pieces that the White Sox can build around moving forward.
Venable’s Coaching Hire Track Record
To Venable’s credit, his two coaching additions had proven track records.
Bench coach Walker McKinven brought an impressive résumé. A Chicagoland native, he spent nine years with the Brewers in roles ranging from video scout to strategy coach before becoming their run prevention coordinator. In that role, Milwaukee ranked third in MLB with 27 defensive runs prevented in 2024. McKinven also played a key role in game planning and in the development of catchers — including All-Star William Contreras, who went from –11 Defensive Runs Saved with Atlanta to +11 two years after arriving in Milwaukee. His presence is considered a major asset for the White Sox’s young catching core of Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero.
With several staff positions still open, Venable has plenty of options to round out his coaching staff.
