New coaches Chris Denorfia, Jose Leger excited about opportunity to help maximize White Sox' young talent
When the White Sox hired manager Will Venable last season, his former Padres teammate from 2010-14, Chris Denorfia, congratulated him but also left a message.
"I said, ‘I want to take this off the table: I will never ask you for a job,' " Denorfia said Thursday morning on a Zoom call with reporters. "I told him, 'If you ever have a need for me, I will be there for you in a heartbeat, but just know that I’m never going to ask you for a job.'
"I just think that friendships are too rare, especially in baseball, long-term. I didn’t want to put that in jeopardy."
Just last week, Denorfia was a member of the Rockies organization when the Sox came calling. Soon enough, a deal was reached for Denorfia to join the Sox as a major-league field coordinator.
"It all happened rather fast in about a 48-hour window and we started discussing it and the interview process and ultimately the offer," Denorfia said.
Denorfia said his role entails scheduling for players and creating practice designs. Before joining the Sox, Denorfia served as the Rockies' outfield and baserunning coordinator. He also served as the Cubs' quality assurance coach in 2019. His hiring follows the organization's ethos of ensuring its young players are best served in their continued development.
The Sox haven't made many moves this offseason, and general manager Chris Getz has ensured the franchise doesn't want to block prospects or accelerate its rebuild.
For the Sox, improvement next season will have to be internal. With the hiring of pitching coach Zach Bove and hitting coach Derek Shomon, the team is emphasizing player development.
"What the Padres are doing now, we didn't even know was possible," Denorifa said. "I think my first year there, our payroll was about $29 million for the entire team.
"It's basically trying to get the most out of all the players that you have, especially for a young and up-and-coming team like this White Sox team. There's a lot of development still to be had, and we don't really know what these guys are capable of yet and that's super exciting because they're all so talented as is."
With that development comes improvement in the little details — pre-pitch setup, secondary leads on base, and routes to the ball. New first-base/outfield coach Jose Leger will be a big part of working to improve those traits. Sox outfielders finished 16th in defensive runs saved (-3).
"We’re trying to implement aggressiveness and get the most out of their speed and their skills on the base paths to score runs," Leger said Thursday. "It’s anticipating. It’s understanding tips and tells from the opposition. It’s learning what the situation is bringing to them. It’s going to be my job to be in their ears and right behind their shoulders, reminding them, 'Hey, this is what we need to do, this is what we’re anticipating.' I think preparation is the key."
A lot remains unsettled this offseason. The Sox still have multiple roles to fill on their roster, but the offseason is far from complete. Even coming out of the winter meetings armed with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Sox know they have a lot of work to do to return to the postseason.
"It really is a top-down, bottom-up approach," Denorfia said. "Every single department has to be dialed in from the player acquisition to the development, and then continue development at the big leagues.
"I know in 2015, [the Cubs] added Jon Lester and you start getting those leaders, those guys that have been there and done that and when you time that correctly to coincide with the young guys coming up, that’s sort of the secret sauce right there."