White Sox Part Ways With Manager Rick Renteria After 4 Seasons

CHICAGO – When the Chicago White Sox headed into the stretch run of the shortened regular season in first place in the American League Central Division, the high hopes of a deep playoff run fans on Chicago’s South Side had hoped for reached a fevered pitch.

But when the Sox faded down the stretch and were eliminated in the first round of their first playoff appearance in 12 years, disappointment set in and so did curiosities about manager Rick Renteria’s future set in.

On Monday, that too, became reality.

The Sox announced Monday that the team and Renteria had agreed to part ways, the team announced. In four years with the Sox, Renteria finished with a record of 236-309, including a 35-25 record this season. The White Sox, who made their first playoff appearance since 2008, finished tied for second place in the Central Division before seeing their season end in a best-of-three series loss to the Oakland Athletics.

In five years as a big-league manager, Renteria — who was replaced on Chicago's North Side after one season to open the door for the Cubs to hire Joe Maddon — has a career record of 309-398, which comes out to a .437 winning percentage.

General manager Rick Hahn announced Monday that the team has also parted ways with long-time pitching coach Don Cooper and said that former manager Ozzie Guillen will not be considered as a possible replacement for Renteria.

Hahn said he and Renteria have had "candid conversations" over the past weeks and months but declined to get into too many specifics about how mutual the decision to part ways was between the team and its now former manager.

“This is not how we wanted this to end,” Hahn said. “We wanted it to end with Ricky leading us to championships.”

Hahn told reporters on Monday that there is no timeline to name a replacement for Renteria, who replaced Robin Ventura after he was fired following the 2016 season. Among the possible list of replacements is former Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch, former Red Sox manager Alex Cora, former Yankees manger Joe Girardi and Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar, Jr., who replaced manager Terry Francona earlier this season after Francona left the team with health issues.

Late Monday afternoon, USA Today reported that the Sox plan to reach out to 76-year-old former manager Tony La Russa to gauge his interest in the opening. La Russa, who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series championship in 2011, began his managerial career with the White Sox in 1979 and led the Sox to the playoffs in 1983.

The Sox, led by a core of young talent and American League MVP candidate Jose Abreu, appeared to be in the driver’s seat for a Central Division title before they lost eight of their final 10 regular season games, including being swept in a four-game series against the Cleveland Indians before losing two of three to the Cubs to finish the regular season.

After jumping out to an early playoff series lead against the A’s, the Sox dropped the final two games of the series, which sealed Renteria’s fate.

“It’s a tough one to swallow, but we’ve got to keep going,” shortstop Tim Anderson said after the Sox’ 6-4 season-ending loss. “It’s just the start of something that could be great.”

The 2020 season was expected to be the first of many bright spots after Hahn engineered a three-year rebuild over Renteria’s first three seasons with the Sox. After grabbing some added veteran talent in the offseason to provide some insulation around the team’s young nucleus, this season was supposed to be the first of many steps in the right direction.

But after the team collapsed down the stretch – one that included a few curious managerial moves by Renteria – the optimism that appeared to have been building was suddenly replaced the string of disappointing losses.

After the season-ending loss, Anderson expressed confidence in his manager.

“I think he’s the right guy,” Anderson said.

Asked about the possibility of returning and continuing to guide the Sox’ push forward, Renteria said, “You want to be part of it as often as you possibly can,” he said.

While some of Renteria's in-game decision-making came into question later in the season — especially as it related to pitching — Hahn wouldn't discount his former manager's ability to lead a team deep into the playoffs if given the opportunity to manage somewhere else now that his tenure on Chicago's South Side has ended.

“I don’t necessarily buy that, other than the fact that he doesn’t done that yet,” Hahn said. “Therefore it’s an easy thing to put at his doorstep. I think he’s obviously tremendous in terms of building a culture.”