Rangers bench coach Donnie Ecker is reportedly a candidate for the Chicago White Sox managerial job
MLB Rumors: Donnie Ecker, the Texas Rangers bench coach and offensive coordinator, is one of the candidates the Chicago White Sox are looking at for their new manager, according to James Fegan.
The White Sox fired manager Rick Renteria after the 2020 season, and it was widely expected that A.J. Hinch would be the replace. Instead, Jerry Reinsdorf brought Tony LaRussa back for an almost two year stint that was, at best, a mixed bag. Pedro Grifol took over as manager in 2023, and things went so bad that long-time execs Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams were fired, with Chris Getz being promoted as general manager. Getz fired Grifol during the ChiSox’s historically bad 2024 season, and is now searching for a new manager.
Getz appears to be casting a wide net, and among those who have been mentioned as being on the list of candidates the White Sox are interested in talking to are Grady Sizemore, who was the interim manager after Grifol was let go, Phil Nevin, Daniel Descalso, Skip Schumaker, George Lombard, A.J. Ellis, Danny Lehmann, and Rangers associate manager Will Venable.
Venable would seem to be unlikely to end up with the White Sox, as he was brought in by Bruce Bochy as associate manager when Bochy was hired by the Rangers prior to the 2023 season, and is widely seen as Bochy’s successor once Bochy hangs it up. Unless Venable feels like Bochy is going to be in Texas for several more years, or thinks he’s not as clear cut a pick as has been suggested, I don’t see why he’d take on the cleaning of the Augean Stables that is the White Sox managerial job.
Ecker, on the other hand, isn’t the manager in waiting in Texas, so he would seem to be a more likely option for Chicago. Ecker, 38, was in player development for the St. Louis Cardinals for three years before being the Angels’ AAA hitting coach in 2018. He spent a year with Cincinnati as their assistant hitting coach in 2019, then spent two years as a hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants before joining the Rangers as bench coach and offensive coordinator as part of Bochy’s staff prior to 2022.