DALLAS -- At the previous winter meetings in Nashville, the White Sox ended up on the wrong end of the draft lottery by getting the fifth pick, an extra insult after finishing the 2023 season with baseball's fourth-worst record.
Worse yet, because they finished in the top six, they were ineligible for this year's lottery, and would be relegated to picking no higher than 10th. It was a major bummer at the time, and that was before the White Sox ended up setting the modern MLB record for most losses in a season in 2024, and finishing with the worst record in baseball by 20 games.
At least the White Sox are picking no lower than 10th in the 2025 draft, because that's where they ended up on the MLB draft lottery this evening. Misery has company, because the other two 100-loss teams were barely any luckier, as both the Rockies and Marlins finished outside the top three.
The official order of the first 18 picks in the 2025 MLB draft:
- Washington Nationals
- Los Angeles Angels
- Seattle Mariners
- Colorado Rockies
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Miami Marlins
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Cincinnati Reds
- CHICAGO WHITE SOX
- Athletics
- Texas Rangers
- San Francisco Giants
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- Chicago Cubs
- Arizona Diamondbacks
Speaking about the White Sox's poor positioning on Monday, Chris Getz sounded long resigned to that fate.
"My preference would be to be able to go inside the top 10. The rules are the rules. There's nothing I can do about it," Getz said. "I'm not going to lose sleep over it. That's just the current setup of the CBA right now and we'll try to maximize with what was given to us from the draft lottery and continue to build toward a competitive major league club, which we feel like we're on the right track for."
Two small items of consolation: According to the pool report, the White Sox would've landed the sixth overall pick if they were eligible. It's four picks higher than No. 10, certainly, but it would've rendered them ineligible for a pick inside the top 10 in the 2026 draft. As it stands, they're free to try to ride one of baseball's worst records to first-round fortune next time around.
Also, they still hold the first pick in the Rule 5 draft Wednesday afternoon, and Getz confirmed the obvious in that they intend to make a selection. Baseball America has expanded its Rule 5 preview to cover 71 potential selections. None of them are currently part of the White Sox.
Bruce Bochy on Will Venable; Pat Murphy on walker McKinven
During the winter meetings, every MLB manager sits down for a 20-minute session with whichever media members have something to ask, which gives White Sox reporters a chance to inquire about new White Sox coaches with their former bosses.
Regarding Will Venable, Bruce Bochy said on Tuesday the new White Sox manager is "more than ready."
"I'm happy for him. I'm really happy that he is doing this," Bochy said. "I told him, be careful what you ask for, but he did such a great job with me. I enjoyed my two years with him."
What makes Venable suited for managing?
"Will has a great way about him. He's got a good feel for the game. He's got a good feel for people. I think being a really good communicator, being honest and up front is going to be so good, and it's going to so well with him and the team that he has.
"There's going to be a trust factor with Will. He is going to shoot you straight, and that's what they're going to love."
A day earlier, Brewers manager Pat Murphy gave a review of his former run prevention coordinator Walker McKinven, who is now the White Sox's bench coach.
"Great decision-maker. He's all in," Murphy said. "It's a life work for him. It's not something that -- it's not a job. He's all in. Great decision-maker. He understands how the front office works. He understands how the baseball staff works. He'll be a great help to Will."
Murphy said McKinven's role evolved over the course of his eight years in Milwaukee, tailored to his specific skill set, particularly his work with improving the receiving performances of his catchers.
"We'll have a tough time replacing it all," Murphy said.
Meeting with media on Tuesday, McKinven acknowledged that his responsibilities will increase with the bench coach role, but he wants to remain active with White Sox catchers. If Getz is to be believed, that will involve a new entry to the current crop of Korey Lee, Chuckie Robinson and an ascendent Edgar Quero.
"That is something that's near and dear to me," McKinven said.
