White Sox manager candidates: Ozzie Guillén, Charlie Montoyo and more possible Pedro Grifol replacements

The Chicago White Sox, on pace to be one of the worst teams in modern Major League Baseball history, announced on Thursday that they had fired manager Pedro Grifol. Previously a coach with the Kansas City Royals, Grifol lasted just over a season and a half at the helm in Chicago. The White Sox will now seek the franchise’s 43rd skipper.

While it’s unfortunate that Grifol lost his job, that’s the business of being a big-league manager: you get credit for the highs, and blame for the lows. As is tradition here at CBS Sports whenever a skipper finds themselves ousted, we’ve decided to throw some names out there about who could be the next in line — it’s a guessing game, basically, and one that allows us to highlight common tropes that come with these processes.

With that in mind, here are five names who we think could pop up in relation to the White Sox’s managerial opening.

1. Skip Schumaker, Marlins manager

It’s fair to write that Schumaker’s second season at the helm in Miami has not gone as swimmingly as his first one did. Still, the residual shine of last year’s surprise playoff run will make him an interesting free agent at season’s end for teams seeking a new skipper. (The Marlins agreed to void their club option on him after overhauling their front office.) Schumaker remains on the younger side (he’s 44) and he’s won 45.8% of his games with the Marlins to date. The questions are whether or not Schumaker will be willing to babysit another young, developing roster — and if he’ll have much choice.

2. Charlie Montoyo, White Sox bench coach

This being the White Sox, you can’t wholly reject the possibility that they stay in house, as they did after firing Rick Hahn and promoting assistant general manager Chris Getz to the GM post. Montoyo checks off a number of boxes that would seem to make him a real candidate: he’s already in place; he has past managerial experience (having captained the Toronto Blue Jays for parts of four seasons); and he’s probably not above taking the gig. The White Sox ought to at least interview some external candidates — something they didn’t do before giving Getz the big job — but we could see Montoyo stay in the mix.

3. Fredi González, Orioles bench coach

Baseball is a copycat league. Losing teams often look to winning teams for inspiration. Sometimes that means hiring individuals directly from those clubs, hoping that their institutional knowledge of a good franchise can rub off. González makes sense on those grounds, and he also makes sense as someone who has been there and done that as a manager. He’s captained a big-league club in parts of 10 seasons already, and has interviewed for other gigs since being dismissed by the Braves in 2016. González isn’t going to thrill the locals or anything, but his credentials are worth acknowledging. Some other names worth keeping in mind in this mold: Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler; Mets front office member Andy Green; and Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus.

4. Rickie Weeks Jr., Brewers associate manager

Hiring someone like González, an experienced hand with potentially newfound knowledge, is one way losing teams pluck from winning teams. Another way is hiring fresh faces with the hopes that they can help build something special elsewhere. Weeks would qualify. He’s served as Pat Murphy’s right-hand man this season, giving him plenty of insight into how to get the most from a roster. It’s possible that Weeks isn’t ready for his own gig yet, and it’s also possible that he would prefer to stick with the Brewers, a franchise he’s long been identified with. Both are fair considerations. If not Weeks, we could see the White Sox filling this candidate type by inquiring about Guardians coaches Craig Albernaz or Kai Correa; Dodgers coaches Danny Lehmann and Clayton McCullough; and/or Pirates bench coach Don Kelly.

5. Ozzie Guillén, television analyst

Guillén, of course, used to manage the White Sox. He won more than 52% of his games from 2004-11, and he even raised the World Series trophy in 2005. He hasn’t managed in the majors since a disastrous one-year stint with the Marlins back in 2012, but he’s stayed close to the game (and specifically the White Sox) by doing television work. If nothing else, we think Guillén’s name will come up because he’ll bring it up himself. Beyond that? Who knows. It’s not like Jerry Reinsdorf has shied away from hiring managers from the past — remember the second Tony La Russa era?