White Sox rumors: Ozzie Guillen gaining steam in manager search

The Chicago White Sox presumably have 24 hours to name a new manager before they likely would need to wait until after the World Series concludes to make an official announcement.

The Major League Baseball World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies is set to begin on Friday evening and teams are advised not to make any official announcements during the World Series in an effort to ensure that the focus is on the two teams that are playing.

Interestingly enough, there are two candidates from the Astros’ and Phillies’ coaching staff that may be in consideration for the White Sox managerial gig.

Astros’ bench coach Joe Espada is believed to have interviewed for the position while Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long would be an ideal candidate for the position as well.

If Espada or Long are finalists for the position, that would lend credence as to why the White Sox have not named a manager while teams such as the Texas Rangers and Miami Marlins have already named their new managers.

Or, it could be that the White Sox were waiting on a meeting of the minds to take place between 2005 World Series manager Ozzie Guillen and team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to take place.

In a radio hit with KNXO in Iowa, NBC Sports Chicago insider David Kaplan reported that Guillen recently met with Reinsdorf to clear the air regarding the end of Guillen’s first stint as the White Sox manager in 2010.

The White Sox traded Guillen to the Miami Marlins after consecutive years of friction between the manager and the team’s front office.

Kaplan indicated that the meeting between Guillen and Reinsdorf went well and the silence from Guillen’s camp may indicate that there is a real chance that he returns to the manager’s helm for the White Sox.

In reference to Guillen potentially being named the White Sox manager for a second time, Major League Baseball insider Jon Heyman questioned the idea while speaking with “The Mully and Haugh Show” on Thursday morning but did indicate that Reinsdorf may want Guillen for the job.

Ozzie Guillen is gaining steam to become the manager of the Chicago White Sox.

If Guillen does become the White Sox manager, this would mark the second consecutive. managerial hire in which the final decision was made by the owner and not the general manager.

Reinsdorf wanted to correct a previous wrong in 2020 when he hired Tony La Russa despite general manager Rick Hahn wanting AJ Hinch, and he could have a similar idea in mind with the preference for Guillen to return to the White Sox organization as the team’s manager.

Guillen would be an interesting choice for the White Sox considering another hire where the organization opted to go with a familiar face as opposed to a candidate in Espada that clearly has a future in baseball as a manager.