The South Siders announced staffing changes made in the front office and minor leagues.
The Chicago White Sox lightly remodeled the major league roster and gutted most of the coaching staff this offseason. Spring Training commences in two weeks, and most free agents have found teams. Significant roster tweaks have likely concluded, save for a few position battles that will take place during camp. But the White Sox weren't done making changes in other areas.
White Sox Player Development Staff
The 2023 campaign will mark Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Development Chris Getz's seventh year with Chicago's front office. Getz earned a promotion to his current role before the 2021 season.
"The group we have assembled to help lead and develop our minor league players, from coordinators to managers and coaches, is as strong of a group as we have had here with diverse backgrounds and high level experience," Getz said as the club announced their 2023 Player Development staff. "We have had a productive off-season with multiple in-person camps and a successful rollout and execution of our new strength and conditioning program.
"We are well positioned to hit the ground running next month and will continue our goal of getting the most out of our players in preparation for playing in Chicago. I believe the programs we have built in player development reflect the quality of our players and instructors, and I am excited to see our full staff on the field again with our players and the impact their work will have on the 2023 season and beyond."
Familiar Names
As they commonly do, the White Sox brought back some former players fans will recognize. Chicago's Double-A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons, will have three former Sox players in the dugout this year. Nicky Delmonico will serve as the Barons' hitting coach, Danny Farquhar will help as the pitching coach, and alongside him is assistant pitching coach Donnie Veal.
The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers pitching staff will be led by Blake Hickman. This is Hickman's first coaching role in professional baseball. The former seventh-round draft pick of the White Sox was a graduate of Chicago's Amateur Cite Elite (ACE) program and Simeon Career Academy on Chicago's South Side. Hickman, a right-handed hurler, appeared in 50 games between two of Chicago's A-ball affiliates during his two seasons in the Sox system.
An Infamous Name
Hickman will be part of a coaching staff led by Patrick Leyland, who is the son of former Pirates, Marlins, Rockies, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland.
Jim Leyland was a three-time manager of the year, two-time AL pennant winner, and 1997 World Series champion with the then-Florida Marlins. He started his major league coaching career with the White Sox in 1982 as a third base coach under Tony La Russa for four seasons.
A full list of the Chicago White Sox 2023 player development staff, minor league coaches, and medical staff can be found here.
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