The Chicago White Sox are looking for new leadership on a couple fronts.
As owner Jerry Reinsdorf mulls a sale of the franchise, possibly to retired pitcher and player agent Dave Stewart, the team is simultaneously on the hunt for a permanent manager to replace interim Grady Sizemore.
More news: MLB News: Unpopular Owner Considering Sale of Franchise: Report
According to Josh Nelson and James Fegan of Sox Machine, three names have emerged as the search narrows: A.J. Ellis, George Lombard and Skip Schumaker.
Of the three, only Schumaker has major league managerial experience. He resigned his post with the Miami Marlins in September after his second year with the club. The 44-year-old guided the Marlins to a surprise Wild Card berth in his first season before slumping to a 62-100 record in 2024.
More news: Star NL Manager Won't Return to Team, Hitting Free Agency This Winter
Lombard, 49, briefly coached Ellis, 43, in Los Angeles in 2016. After serving as the Dodgers' first-base coach from 2015-19, Lombard became the Detroit Tigers' bench coach in 2020. His son, George Lombard Jr., is a prospect in the New York Yankees' organization.
Ellis currently works in the San Diego Padres' front office, the only baseball job he's held since retiring as a player in 2018. The Padres have reached the postseason in three of the last five seasons -- the most successful five-year run in franchise history.
More news: MLB's Worst Team Fires Its Manager Amid Historically Awful Season
The White Sox are looking for a manager to lead the team out of an ugly situation that saw them set a modern-era record with 121 losses in 2024. Chicago fired manager Pedro Grifol at midseason and replaced him with Sizemore on an interim basis.
The team projects to carry a $67.5 million payroll in 2025, and is not expected to spend in free agency to fill the gaps apparent on their uncompetitive roster. That was true even before Reinsdorf began exploring a sale. Teams that are for sale typically lower expenses, so perhaps Reinsdorf's budget for a manager will limit him to first-time candidates only.
That could bode well for Ellis and Lombard, if they indeed interview and are interested in the job. Whoever gets the assignment is likely in for a long year. The American League Central sent three teams -- the Tigers, Cleveland Guardians, and Kansas City Royals -- to the postseason in 2024. All three clubs could conceivably improve next year.
The White Sox figure to have nowhere to go but up. No team had lost 120 games since the expansion New York Mets in 1962. Sizemore's successor has the lowest bar for success of any manager in recent memory.