(670 The Score) The White Sox have parted ways with manager Rick Renteria, the team announced Monday morning.
The news came after the White Sox had a breakout 35-25 campaign but were then eliminated by the Athletics in the wild-card round. Renteria took a fair deal of criticism for the handling of his pitching staff in the decisive Game 3 loss in the wild-card round. The White Sox had heaped praise on Renteria for his leadership, culture of accountability and work with young players, but he often came under scrutiny for his strategical decisions during his tenure in Chicago.
"We mutually decided that now was the right time to make the change in that position," general manager Rick Hahn said. "This is about where we are as an organization and what we need to do to take that next step."
Renteria was 236-309 in leading the White Sox across four seasons. The team wasn’t built to contend in his first three years, then took off in 2020 as young talent ascended to the big league level and catcher Yasmani Grandal and left-hander Dallas Keuchel were added in free agency ahead of the season.
Renteria's exit from the White Sox marked the second time in his managerial career that he had been let go by a team in Chicago right as it ascended. The Cubs fired Renteria in late October 2014 to pave the way to hire Joe Maddon as their manager.
There's a strong market of managerial candidates for the White Sox to choose from. It includes a pair of World Series-winning managers in A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora, both of whom lost their jobs amid the fallout from the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.
"Ultimately, I think the best candidate or the ideal candidate is going to be someone who has experience with a championship organization in recent years -- recent October experience with a championship organization," Hahn said.
The White Sox also parted ways with longtime pitching coach Don Cooper, Hahn said. The future of the rest of the coaching staff will be determined in consultation with the new manager.