With the MLB offseason just getting underway, coaching and managerial hires are normally one of the first dominoes to fall during the offseason activity. After the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Mets extended their current skippers, three AL West teams are left without a manager entering Thursday: the Mariners, Astros, and Angels. The Astros are currently looking to finalize a deal with Brewers Assistant GM Matt Kleine to become their General Manager, and will then proceed with hiring a manager, and the Angels just recently announced the departure of Kurt Suzuki, so those searches will take a bit longer. But Seattle seems to be nearing a decision, and it sounds like White Sox bench coach Walker McKinven will not be getting that job.
According to a report from The Seattle Times, the two finalists for the Mariners job are former Astros manager Joe Espada and Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler. White Sox bench coach Walker McKinven and former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde were in the mix, but are no longer being considered. For the White Sox, I’d say this is good news.
Walker McKinven has been a valuable member of the White Sox since 2025
Walker McKinven first joined the White Sox organization before the 2025 season, shortly after Will Venable became the manager, and he’s served as Venable’s right-hand man since. His work with the White Sox pitchers and catcher, in particular, is noteworthy over the past two years. McKinven is a Chicago native with a background in the analytically-driven Brewers organization, and has been spoken highly of by Pat Murphy and others who have worked with him. He seems to bring an analytical mind to a White Sox organization that has greatly needed it over the past few seasons.
Pat Murphy with high praise for Will Venable and Walker McKinven.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) September 1, 2026
Murphy was Venable’s manager with the Padres for parts of 2015.
McKinven was on Murphy’s staff with the Brewers before coming to the White Sox. https://t.co/IUKkzpMDUY pic.twitter.com/MQ0eal3hkY
It’s no guarantee that McKinven won’t land a managerial job this offseason. The bench coach of the best story in baseball and the right-hand man to the likely manager of the year is certainly going to get a look by other teams. If the Astros do complete the hire of Matt Kleine, who worked with McKinven in Milwaukee for nine seasons, it would certainly make sense if he were a candidate for the Houston job. But at least for now, he appears to be staying in Chicago.
As GM Chris Getz indicated in his first media session of the offseason, the White Sox are expected to retain their entire coaching staff from 2026. This, of course, could change if any coaches are offered a promotion elsewhere, but it’s a well-deserved offer for the coaches of a team that overperformed their preseason expectations.
Whether Walker McKinven will return to the White Sox next season is not officially decided, but the chances just increased with the Mariners decision to pursue other candidates. Hopefully, the Astros and Angels will make the same decision and McKinven will be back in the dugout on the South side in 2027.
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