White Sox think Rick Renteria is manager to see rebuild through
The Chicago White Sox have a promising future, and they see Rick Renteria as the manager to see their rebuild through.
Since sitting one game below .500 (41-42) at the conclusion of play on July 3, the Chicago White Sox have lost nine of their last 10 games (0-7 since the All-Star break. A third straight season finishing below .500 under Rick Renteria seems certain, and over 90 losses for the third straight campaign is a possibility.
Soon after Renteria moved from bench coach to manager to replace Robin Ventura, the White Sox embraced a rebuild by trading Chris Sale, Adam Eaton and Jose Quintana. Those trades yielded prospects Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, and Dylan Cease, who are on track to be building blocks for the next White Sox contender.
On Thursday, upon the Kansas City Royals completing a four-game sweep of the White Sox, general manager Rick Hahn had plenty of praise for Renteria.
"As we said at the start of this process, we believed Ricky was the right man not only for the early stages of it but also for when the time arrived that we were ready to contend for championships.”Over the past few years, his strengths as a teacher, as a communicator, as someone who helps forge a new culture, have been called upon repeatedly, and he’s executed those important –elements of the rebuild extremely well."
Renteria managed one season on the other side of Chicago, as the Cubs posted a 73-89 record under him in 2014 before he was replaced by Joe Maddon. The team of course won the World Series in 2016, so Renteria didn’t get to see that rebuild with a talent-laden roster through to a payoff.
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Hahn’s comments, with buzzwords like process and culture, could be seen in the same vein as a dreaded vote of confidence for Renteria amid a losing stretch of games. But Renteria at least has a chance to manage into a return to playoff contention on the South Side of Chicago.