After the Birmingham Barons won the Southern League for the first time in 11 years, I wondered how or whether the White Sox would reward the two members of the coaching staff who had the biggest hand in the success.
Pitching coach John Ely opted out of the opportunity, stepping back from the minor-league coaching ranks in order to spend time with his newly expanded family, but manager Sergio Santos interviewed for the major-league managerial vacancy before accepting a promotion to Triple-A where he'll manage the Charlotte Knights.
And if Santos finds a way to get the Knights into the International League postseason, the White Sox should fire Will Venable immediately and anoint Santos manager for life.
That's only a slight overstatement, but Santos' promotion adds a compelling subplot to the Triple-A season. Santos has managed at three different levels in three years -- two in the Yankees organization before hopping over to the White Sox -- and he's reached the championship each time:
- 2022: 38-17, Won Florida Complex League championship
- 2023: 70-62, Lost South Atlantic League championship
- 2024: 72-66, Won Southern League championship
"I've been fortunate -- I've had three years managing, I've made it to the championship game three times and I've won it twice. So for me, if it's not broken, no need to fix it," Santos said on a Zoom call Thursday.
That makes him the irresistible force to the Charlotte Knights' immovable object. The Knights finished 68-79 last season, and that registered as a minor triumph relative to their recent history, particularly since the pandemic shutdown:
It's easy to understand why: Whether the major league team is competitive or rebuilding, the White Sox run such thin depth charts that every notable contributor at Charlotte gets sucked up into the Chicago maelstrom. It also probably doesn't help that Truist Field is the friendliest offensive environment in the International League, making it harder to hide suspect pitching.
The trickle-down effect had previously permeated levels below, resulting in pretty pitiful baseball in Birmingham as well. The White Sox seemed to make a concerted effort to wall off the Double-A roster from the catastrophic failures above, at least until it secured a first-half title.
While Santos expressed confidence in his overall philosophy, he did mention a number of elements that will be new to him as a Triple-A manager. Given the number of players that will plugged into the White Sox roster on short notice over the course of the season, he said that he'll be in close contact with Venable and Paul Janish over the course of the season with regards to preparation and team needs.
"[Venable] is going to convey what his message is, what he wants his big league team to look like, and then it’s my job there in Triple-A in Charlotte ... I liken it to a franchise." Santos said, before revealing his California-centric worldview. "If I'm In-N-Out in Charlotte and they are In-N-Out in Chicago, you want it to taste the same and feel the same and do all that. It’s just a matter of getting on the same page with him, what they want, what they are looking for in players when they call them up, and then just prepare the guys for that time."
Santos said he also anticipates differences within the clubhouse due to older players, whether it's because they have previous MLB experience, are coming from different organizations, or are simply at different life stages.
"I was fortunate enough to be 20 years old in Triple-A," Santos said. "It was such an eye-opening thing where half the guys on the team had kids and were married ... It's a different animal."
"I'm going to use that. I will lean on the players' experience. They're going to be older, they're going to have more big-league experience, so it'll be more collaborative with the team, just to make sure we're all on the same page and moving in the right direction."
And then there's the matter of the fact that the Triple-A roster will be required to patch holes on the White Sox's 26-man roster on short notice, versus being able to more carefully orchestrate promotions from Double-A in 2024. Chris Getz's slew of MLB contracts for role players indicates an interest in providing a layers of initial protection, with the hopes of giving prospects time to marinate in Charlotte should they miss on an initial opportunity to win a job in Chicago.
That said, Getz tried a more limited form of the same approach in his first offseason as GM, and God laughed.
"You have to be prepared to adjust," Santos said. "And like I tell these guys, I'm big on routines and doing things to prepare, but it's not the [end all be all]. Things can happen in a flash, and you have to be willing to make an adjustment."
"We want stability. I think stability is important, but if that gets taken away or shaken, it shouldn't deter you from what you have to do."
