The White Sox are looking for a new manager and may be closer to a decision. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today on

As Nightengale noted, this could make for an interesting standoff. The Sox are one of two clubs in the hunt for a new manager, the other being the Marlins. It was reported yesterday by Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald that Venable and Albernaz are the two finalists for the Marlins gig, so there is plenty of overlap in the two searches.

Nevin, 53, appears to be the only name on the Sox radar, but not the Marlins. Jon Heyman of The New York Post listed him as a candidate a few weeks ago and it appears Nevin is still in the running. He is also the only one in the group with previous management experience. He was working as the Angels’ third base coach in 2022 when manager Joe Maddon was fired. The club gave Nevin the gig on an interim basis and ultimately re-signed him for the 2023 campaign, but did not renew his contract afterwards.

The club went 119-149 during his time there, but that may not say much about his abilities as a skipper. The club also had poor results before he had the job and after he left, meaning the poor record is likely more a reflection of roster formation rather than a lack of dugout leadership.

After parting ways with the Angels, Nevin applied for the managerial vacancy in San Diego, but that job went to Mike Shildt and Nevin was denied a gig elsewhere before the 2024 season. Before joining the Angels, he spent about a decade as a player in the majors before turning to coaching. He worked in indy ball and then in the minors with the Tigers and Diamondbacks. He then had major league coaching jobs with the Giants and Yankees before landing with the Angels.

Venable is also a former player with extensive coaching experience. He was the starting coach for the Cubs for the 2018-2020 seasons before becoming the bench coach for the Red Sox. For the past two years he was associate manager for the Rangers under skipper Bruce Bochy.

He was mentioned as a candidate for managerial gigs with the Guardians and Mets last winter, but reportedly declined to be interviewed because he was happy with the Rangers. Now it seems he is paying more attention to a change. Heyman reported yesterday that Venable was in Miami interviewing for that gig and a move to Chicago’s South Side also seems feasible.

Albernaz never made it to the Majors as a player, spending nearly a decade in the minors from 2006 through 2014. He then began his coaching career in the Rays’ minor league system. Prior to the 2020 season, he was added to the Giants’ major league staff as bullpen and catchers coach. A year ago, the Guardians hired him as bench coach under new manager Stephen Vogt.

There is speculation by some that Albernaz is the favorite for the Miami job given his history with Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. When Albernaz coached for the Rays in the minors, Bendix worked for that club and eventually became general manager in December 2021.

Pedro Grifol was fired as White Sox manager during the most recent season and replaced on an interim basis by Grady Sizemore. Sizemore had been identified as a candidate for a more permanent position, but Nightengale’s report shows that he is behind this trio of Venable, Albernaz and Nevin.

There are plenty of other names linked to the job, but many have reportedly been eliminated from the league, including former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descasso, Tigers bench coach George Lombard, Rangers bench coach and offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker , Dodgers first-team coach Clayton McCullough and Padres special assistant AJ Ellis.

Teams are generally discouraged from announcing big news on days when a playoff game is taking place. Even if the White Sox make a final decision soon, it may not be publicly reported until after the World Series ends or Thursday’s off day is reached.