One big concern to have around the Chicago White Sox manager search

The Chicago White Sox seem to be down to three finalists for the manager opening. The problem is figuring out who it is.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman had the list down to Texas Rangers associate coach Will Venable, Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard, and former Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin.

Heyman then later reported over the weekend that Lombard was out of the running. ESPN's Jesse Rogers also tweeted out that Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough, who local reporter Bruce Levine identified as an early favorite, was no longer under consideration.

Rogers also reported San Diego Padres special assistant to the GM, A.J. Ellis, pulled his name out of the race for family reasons.

In addition, he also tweeted that St. Louis Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso is not a finalist.

Former Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was the first leading candidate reported after Pedro Grifol was fired, but he too appears to be out of contention.

So, it begs one to wonder, who are the final candidates from a search that involved a lot of names reportedly tied to filling the role?

Rogers followed up that it is Venable, Cleveland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz, and interim Sox manager Grady Sizemore.

Rogers was not sure about Nevin's status in the manager search. The only other known candidate who reportedly interviewed for the position whose status is not defined is Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann as Rangers bench Donnie Ecker is out of the running too.

All these twists and turns are not the most concerning part of this search.

The biggest concern is the White Sox are attempting to get a hot coaching candidate like Venable or Albernaz at their price.

The White Sox are coming off the worst season in the modern era. The Sox should be grateful anyone is willing to take the job coming off a 121-loss season and where the team has already announced payroll is being slashed.

The arrogance that this team keeps displaying should have been humbled the moment the team broke the 1962 New York Mets record for most defeats in a 162-game season. The belief that the team can be successful on the cheap should also have been flushed.

Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to give prospects such as Bryan Ramos, Edgar Quero, Dominic Fletcher, Colson Montgomery, and their outstanding young pitchers a runway to develop into big leaguers.

Spending gobs of money is not going to turn things around overnight, either. However, if the Southsiders are going to be competitive by 2027, they cannot go on the cheap in the margins.

The front office also cannot be cheap when trying to convince Venable or Albernaz to take the job.

Albernaz is linked to the Marlins opening with his deep ties to their baseball head, Peter Bendix, and assistant GM Gabe Kapler. Venable is viewed as the heir to Bruce Bochy whenever he retires. He has already declined other jobs during last year's hiring cycle.

Cash is going to be one way the Sox can win a potential bidding war for Albernaz or convince Venable to leave a much better franchise in Texas.

However, it sounds like business as usual at 35th and Shields. That means going as cheap as possible when it comes to hiring a manager and likely not getting Venable or Albernaz.