On Wednesday, it was made public that Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is considering selling his majority stake in the organization.
From an on-field standpoint, it was also revealed that there are two new names in the mix for the White Sox managerial vacancy.
According to Sox Machine, George Lombard of the Detroit Tigers and AJ Ellis of the San Diego Padres are in consideration. The site says the team is also considering canddiates from teams that are still playing. The group reports that its too early to consider anyone a finalist.
The 49-year-old Lombard spent six years as a player with the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays, Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers. An outfielder, he hit .220 for his career with eight home runs. He has spent the last four years as the Detroit Tigers bench coach, helping the Tigers advance to the National League Division Series this season.
Prior to that, he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers for five seasons as a first-base coach. He helped Los Angeles win the World Series during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
As for Ellis, he played 11 years in the big leagues with the Dodgers, Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies and Padres. He was a .239 career hitter who served as Clayton Kershaw’s personal catcher with LA. He has been working in more of a front office role with the Padres since his playing career ended.
Per Sox Machine:
The Padres added Ellis to their baseball operations staff in 2019 in a role that’s hard to pin down or collect testimonials for, but has included plenty of roving player development work that wouldn’t take much imagination to apply it to a young and unestablished White Sox roster. At the risk of running into an oft-used cliche,descriptions of Ellis’ final year in uniform sound like the run-up to a managerial career already.
The White Sox finished 41-121 this past season, securing the most losses in a season in modern baseball history. They appear primed for a several year rebuild and will need a manager who possesses both skill and patience.
