New White Sox bench coach Walker McKinven 'likes doing hard things,' so he came to the right place

DALLAS -- Walker McKinven is part of the new White Sox on-field brain trust, who in his first year will be seated alongside first-year manager Will Venable. Their assignment? Run a team that lost 121 games last season and 101 the year before.

“I like doing hard things,” McKinven said. “I’ve kind of fallen in love with doing hard things.”

McKinven came to the right place, then. Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf isn’t spending this offseason, and general manager Chris Getz is looking to trade his best pitcher, Garrett Crochet, and his most talented position player, center fielder Luis Robert Jr., before Venable and McKinven get to run their first spring training.

The Sox’ big free agent signing of the offseason could turn out to be Matt Tauchman, a Cubs fourth outfielder who was landed on a one-year deal late Monday.

“Just the consistency,” Venable said when asked what he likes about Tauchman. “Can control the zone, give you a professional at-bat. Good defender, good base-runner. Just one of those guys that you can depend on every day.”

Dependable is good. Venable will need all the reliable help he can get for a hefty task that’s no one-man job. McKinven, 35, who looks and sounds the part of an alert, sharp baseball coach, is here to help.

A New Trier grad, McKinven spent the last five seasons on the Brewers coaching staff, including 2024 as run prevention coordinator when the Brewers allowed the fourth-fewest runs in the majors. He was the their associate pitching, catching and strategy coach from 2021-23 and major league coach in 2020.

A former outfielder, Venable’s background comes on the offensive and defensive sides, so he complements McKinven in that regard.

After serving as Red Sox manager Alex Cora's bench coach, Venable was the Rangers' associate manager the last two seasons, working under future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy. At the same time, McKinven was working under Brewers managers Craig Counsell, the majors’ highest paid manager with the Cubs now, and Pat Murphy, the National League Manager of the Year in 2024. McKinven watched, listened and learned.

“Two very different leadership styles,” McKinven said. “Two different baseball managers. I got to observe and see things that I might want to use myself if I ever got to a leadership role. So, that’s been unbelievable experience.

“Murph is a little bigger presence, louder person. Addresses things in his own way and Couns is a little bit more reserved of a person in general. And I take things from both of them, the good the bad.”

McKinven can take a little from a number of responsibilities he had in Milwaukee. A minor league pitcher who joined the Brewers organization in 2016, he was coordinator of advance scouting and served as manager of major league strategy before being added to the coaching staff in 2020. He was an intern with the Cubs, the team he grew up rooting for, in 2013-14 and Rangers in 2015.

“I’ve had unique job titles,” McKinven said. “I always said job titles don’t necessarily matter. They don’t matter to players, I know that to be a fact. They care if you can help them.”

What mattered to McKinven about the Sox’ job offer was Venable, which he said was the biggest draw. The two talked on the phone a lot and got to know each during the interview process.

“We just clicked,” McKinven said.

General manager Chris Getz is raving about how he and Venable are clicking, so the Sox management team has cohesiveness going for it in these early stages of a new beginning.

And Venable, Bochy said, "is more than ready."

"I'm really happy that he is doing this," Bochy said Tuesday. "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. He provided so much for me as far as information, helping out with scheduling, things like that.

"He's going to be missed. He knew he was ready. The year before there was some interest out there, but I think he wanted to keep going until he thought he was ready.

"Only you know when you think you're ready. He felt it, so good for him."