General manager Ken Williams said Tuesday he might have a White Sox manager in place before the start of the World Series.
And whoever is named to replace Ozzie Guillen will have important coaches already in place.
Don Cooper, who has been the Sox’s pitching coach since 2002 and has worked with Williams since 1995, has received a four-year extension. First-base coach Harold Baines also received an extension and will have a bigger role on the next staff, Williams said.
Although the Sox remain in the evaluation process, bullpen coach Juan Nieves and bullpen catcher Mark Salas are expected to be retained, leaving hitting coach Greg Walker and third-base coach Jeff Cox as the only coaches whose status remains undecided. Bench coach Joey Cora will join Guillen with the Marlins.
As for the managerial search …
“There’s a very short list,” Williams said, adding he had a preferred candidate. “And I’ve already begun heading down that list.”
Williams said there were some candidates he couldn’t talk to until their teams’ seasons ended. Indians first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. and Rays bench coach Davey Martinez — both former Sox players — loom as strong candidates, especially since Williams intimated he is looking at the future as much as the present with the Sox not expected to add a marquee free agent this winter.
Martinez was aware as early as last week that the Sox job might open, but he stressed his focus was with the Rays. Last fall, Martinez interviewed with the Blue Jays.
“In the future, would I love to interview for a managerial spot?” Martinez said. “Absolutely, I played there. I played on both sides (of town). Chicago is a great city, but my heart right now is with the Rays.
“(Managing) is obviously something I thought about. I’d love to manage, but I have a great situation here. Joe (Maddon) and I work great together.”
Williams said Buddy Bell, a former manager who’s the Sox’s director of player development, is not interested in the manager job.
Williams said Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf must approve his choice, as was the case when Guillen was hired.
That choice could inherit a team in transition, especially after the Sox conclude the 2011 season Wednesday failing to make the playoffs for the third straight year.
“What you have to do is allow growth on both sides and that may mean not delving into the free-agent market or the impact type of trades we are always looking for to get us over the hump,” Williams said. “And that might be a departure from who and what we’ve been, but it may be necessary (to) pay a lot more attention to what we have in the system, keep what we have in the system and build upon that so we can get another window of opportunity to win.”
Twitter @MDGonzales
