Will Venable was the associate manager on the 2023 Rangers team that won the World Series, and also of the 2024 version that lost 84 games despite returning a similar roster.
So the young, fun and welcoming, but also scrappy and resilient team character Venable has regularly praised his White Sox for carrying, is what he’s least certain of going forward.
“I don’t think that we can make the assumption that that is going to exist next year,” Venable told the Sun-Times. “I’m hopeful, because it’s going to be a lot of the same guys, but DNA changes.
“I saw it in Texas. Got this amazing group of guys, win a World Series, have success. Offseason maybe looks a little different, guys are in different situations in [salary arbitration], whatever, personal stuff happens. Next year, you’re trying to create the magic and it’s hard to do.”
Venable spends a lot of time discussing the loose clubhouse atmosphere he works to facilitate, how he readily admits his mistakes because he wants his players to understand that mistakes are part of the game. But he would still concede the concept of team chemistry is better compared to alchemy. A silly, but concrete example: Mike Vasil won’t be the dugout wizard next year, he’ll be pitching.
“Each year is its own year with a bunch of different circumstances and things you can’t control,” said bench coach Walker McKinven. “This is a special year. It’s singular. It’s on its own. We’re trying to win, and go as deep as we can and get to the top.”
Part of the excitement, and also the grace, extended toward a 2026 White Sox team that’s been playing roughly .500 baseball since June 1, is that they’re ahead of schedule. The Sox arrive in Kansas City this week needing only to hold serve against two last-place teams to snag the last American League Wild Card spot, in a year where they were expected to finish in the Royals’ current position.
So it can only go up from here, and a young player group getting postseason experience is just a cherry on top…right?
“I suppose so, we’ve got a core group,” McKinven said, referring to the roster. “Them getting this experience and achieving what they’ve achieved this season is certainly building up a foundation that you want to grow off.”
“There is this transition as you get into September, as you get into meaningful baseball,” Venable said. “Where It does not matter what I do personally. It’s a mentality you have to go through. We have guys who are going through that for the first time, which is great.”
But are the Sox a top-10 MLB offense full of young hitters with upside, or the middle-of-the-pack unit they’ve been since the All-Star break? Are Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith ready to drive the future of the rotation, or are there 2-3 slots to fill over the offseason? Even without Vasil and Jordan Leasure, the Sox have only suffered an average level of injuries this year, and the bill for leading MLB in bullpen innings could come due next spring.
These are the areas of uncertainty that could make the Sox regret not pushing harder at the trade deadline. But after a year of hitting coaches coaxing out bat speed gains, improved defense, and Tristan Peters, Bryan Hudson and Randal Grichuk all being acquired and thriving after getting DFA’d by other smart organizations, roster problem-solving is the area for which Venable reserves the most confidence.
“What I am positive about is the progress of our [research and development] department, of our infrastructure, how we communicate things on both the pitching and the hitting side,” Venable said. “The underlying structural things that the organization is doing are going to expedite us being really good. Whatever our player group is and how they come together in the clubhouse is less predictable, but icing on the cake.”