Chad Pinder recalled a message he often received from manager Bob Melvin during his time as an outfielder/infielder with Oakland.
“Bob Melvin would always jokingly say, ‘You’re going to manage one day,’” Pinder said during a videoconference call Thursday. “And in my head I was like, ‘I don’t want to do that.’”
After his playing days ended in 2023, Pinder pondered his next step.
“I tried a few different things, I started grad school,” Pinder, 33, said. “And ultimately my wife (Taylor) was like, ‘Why don’t you try to go back on the other side.’ She kind of gave me that push and it ended up working out to where I was able to go out to instruct with the (Chicago White) Sox and then (director of player development) Paul (Janish) offered me the job in (Class A) Kannapolis. So here I am now.”
Pinder is taking the leap from Class A to Triple A in the Sox organization after being announced as the manager for the Charlotte Knights on Thursday.
“We’re fired up and excited about him being in Charlotte,” Janish said during Thursday’s videoconference call. “He got to the big leagues and hung around because of who he is and how hard he worked. It’s a super-valuable trait. His accountability level is extremely high, and I think the players are going to feel that.”
Pinder played professionally for 13 seasons (2011-23), including parts of seven in the major leagues with the Athletics (2016-22). Last season was his first as a manager at Kannapolis. He’s thrilled for the next challenge.
“I firmly believe in development, it doesn’t stop,” Pinder said. “It doesn’t stop when you get into the big leagues. We’re here in Charlotte, we can continue to develop, and we can continue to get better and prepare ourselves for the next level. To have the crop of players that are coming in with the staff that they’ve put together here, I’m extremely excited to iron out some of those things.
“Ultimately I just want the guys to be ready and I want them to be able to play free — from stress, or from excuses, from assumptions. To give them the clarity, the direction of what the organization thinks and wants of them. Just prepare them so at 7 o’clock, all they have to worry about is go out and play baseball.”
The Sox on Thursday announced their entire 2026 player development staff. The list includes Patrick Leyland managing at Double-A Birmingham, Guillermo Quiroz at High A Winston-Salem, Jayson Nix at Kannapolis and Daniel González for the Arizona Complex League White Sox.
Leyland spent last season managing Winston-Salem. Quiroz, who led Birmingham to the Southern League title in 2025, is in his 10th season in the Sox system. González is back for his fourth consecutive season as manager of the ACL White Sox.
Nix is in his first year as a manager in the Sox system. He played seven seasons in the majors (2008-14), including parts of two years with the Sox (2009-10).
“The type of player that (Nix) was, I can sympathize with — he earned everything he got as a player,” Janish said. “There’s an edge to Jayson that I think is going to benefit our players.”
Here’s the full list of Thursday’s announcement.
Player development staff
- Director, Player Development: Paul Janish
- Director, Minor League Administration: Kathy Potoski
- Senior Adviser to Pitching: Brian Bannister
- Director of Hitting: Ryan Fuller
- Director, Pitching Strategy: Rod Larson
- Assistant Director, International Scouting/Latin America Operations: Louis Silverio
- Manager, Player Development/International Operations: Grant Flick
- Education Coordinator: Haley Poole
- Special Assistant, Player Development: Phil Nevin
- Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President/General Manager: Doug Sisson
- Arizona Facility Manager: Joe Lachcik
- Director, Clubhouse Staff: Dan Flood
- Charlotte Clubhouse Manager: Bryant Biasotti
- Assistant Charlotte Clubhouse Manager: Corbin Balzer
- Birmingham Clubhouse Manager: Chance Miller
- Winston-Salem Clubhouse Manager: Sean Thomas
- Kannapolis Clubhouse Manager: Eli Fugitt
Player development instructors/rovers
- Field/Infield Coordinator: Ryan Newman
- Pitching Coordinator: Matt Zaleski
- Assistant Pitching Coordinator: Curt Hasler
- Lower-Level Pitching Coordinator: Hiram Burgos
- Pitching Consultant: Zach McAllister
- Hitting Coordinator: Sherman Johnson
- Assistant Hitting Coordinator: Danny Santin
- Catching Coordinator: Ross Steedley
- Rehab Pitching Coach: Garvin Alston
- Sports Science Coordinator: Joe D’Amato
- Player Development Biomechanist: Motoki Sakurai
- Player Development Analyst: Ethan Bain
- Player Development Analyst: Zubin Srivastava
- Nutritionist: Sarah Walsh
- Mental Performance: Cristian Guzman
Medical Staff
- Medical Coordinator: Kevin Pillifant
- Physical Therapist: Cheyenne Conger
- Physical Therapist: Melissa Tighe
- Performance Coordinator: Sergio Rojas
- Assistant Performance Coordinator: John Perry
- Medical Administrator: Scott Takao
Triple-A Charlotte
- Manager: Chad Pinder
- Pitching Coach: Scott Aldred
- Hitting Coach: Cam Seitzer
- Bench Coach: Pat Listach
- Catching/Development Coach: Ángel Rosario
- Trainer: Carson Wooten
- Performance Coach: George Timke
Double-A Birmingham
- Manager: Pat Leyland
- Pitching Coach: John Kovalik
- Hitting Coach: Aaron Bray
- Bench Coach: Daniel Millwee
- Trainer: AJ Smith
- Performance Coach: Juan Maldonado
Class High A Winston-Salem
- Manager: Guillermo Quiroz
- Pitching Coach: Jacob Dorris
- Hitting Coach: Adam Sinkoe
- Bench Coach: Tyler Coolbaugh
- Trainer: Austin Smith
- Performance Coach: Logan Jones
Class A Kannapolis
- Manager: Jayson Nix
- Pitching Coach: Rob Hardy
- Hitting Coach: Charlie Romero
- Bench Coach: Xavier Fernandez
- Trainer: Kira Felise
- Performance Coach: Rodain Delus
Arizona Complex League White Sox
- Manager: Daniel González
- Pitching Coach: Anders Dzurak
- Hitting Coach: Gerardo Olivares
- Bench Coach: Mike Gellinger
- Development Coach: Miguel Gonzalez
- Trainer: Abby McGurrin
- Performance Coach: Max Huberman
Dominican Republic Academy | DSL White Sox
- Manager, Complex Operations: Wellington Morrobel
- Manager, Administration: Carolina Santos
- Manager: Anthony Núñez
- Pitching Coach: JC Sanner
- Pitching Coach: Carlos Chavez
- Infield Coach: Guillermo Reyes
- Hitting Coach: Moisés Núñez
- Development Coach: Rigaberto Silverio
- Trainer: Gustavo De La Cruz
- Assistant Trainer: Neftali Diaz
- Performance Coach: Fran Batista
- Assistant Performance Coach: Carlos Javier
- Video Coordinator: Miguel Pérez
- Lead Educator: Pablo Frías
- Education Assistant: Rubén Benavides
