Chris Denorfia wanted to take something off the table shortly after his friend and former San Diego Padres teammate Will Venable became the Chicago White Sox manager.
“‘I will never ask you for a job, I don’t want to put that strain on our friendship,’” Denorfia recalled relaying to Venable.
“I told him if you ever have a need for me, I will be there for you in a heartbeat but just know that I’m never going to ask you for a job. I just think that friendships are too rare, especially in baseball long term. I didn’t want to put that in jeopardy.”
A little more than a year later, the Sox came calling. And Denorfia accepted a position as a major-league field coordinator.
“Just excited to have a quality individual, a great human, who’s got a great track record of experience within the league and a great track record of being a great teammate,” Venable said. The two were teammates from 2010-14.
“I’m really excited to add the person to the group,” Venable said.
Denorfia, 45, was one of five additions to Venable’s 2026 staff announced Wednesday, along with assistant pitching coach Bobby Hearn, first-base/outfield coach José Leger, bullpen catcher Bennett Markinson and major-league assistant Tony Medina.
Denorfia and Leger discussed their roles in videoconference calls with reporters Thursday. Venable shared his thoughts on the entire staff Friday. Here are four takeaways from the sessions.
1. The Sox kept efficiency in mind.
The Sox looked to hit the reset button on the efficiency of their staff.
“We thought that it was important to find the right fits,” Venable said. “And I think even beyond the fits, really just starting with — what is the structure that we find the most beneficial, the flows of communication, the responsibilities and how we’re going to split those up, who’s doing what and when throughout the day?”
Take, for example, Medina. He’ll be assisting hitting coach Derek Shomon and assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan.
“He’ll do a lot of the game planning, assisting with that, taking the bulk of that off the plate of Joel and Sho and letting those guys have the bandwidth to make sure they’re coaching and doing all the things they need to do to make our hitters at their best,” Venable said.
Venable said the Sox wanted to make sure they were as efficient as possible.
“And so as we reimagined some of these roles and kind of put those things into place, we were then able to kind of follow up and say, OK, these will be the types of people that can carry this structure, that can carry this program, and really bring it to life.”
2. Leger stresses anticipation on the bases and in the outfield.
In addition to the work with the outfielders and in the first-base box, Leger’s duties will include coaching baserunning.
“I think the first step and first reaction is very important both in the outfield and on the basepaths,” Leger said. “Anticipation is the key here. Just good positioning when you’re talking about outfielders. That first step, first direction, angles, all those are important and we’re going to hammer that during drills during spring training. We’re going to continue that during the season to make sure we’re really efficient with our routes.
“On the basepaths, same thing. It’s anticipating, it’s understanding tips and tells from the opposition. It’s learning what the situation is bringing to them.”
Venable said it will take a collaborative effort to find some of those small things that can make a big difference.
“We’ll have a number of people diving in and doing all the research to find every edge we can and to help our baserunners out there,” Venable said.
3. Denorfia is prepared for a broad role.
Denorfia knows the field-coordinator position varies from organization to organization.
“There’s going to be a lot of practice design and scheduling for the players to make sure that they have everything they need on an individual basis to keep improving,” he said.
Venable said Denorfia will have a “broad role.”
“He’s going to make sure that all of these systems are running right,” Venable said.
Denorfia will be ready for any adjustments as the year progresses.
“There could be some video work to it with pitch tipping or any tips I can get,” Denorfia said. “I like to say once you start viewing the game through the lens of that manner when you start looking at these little tells that players are giving you, whether it’s a pitcher or catcher, it really kind of changed the way I view the game.
“So maybe just a different set of eyes with a different focus could give us a little edge on the day-to-day and the game planning and how we go about winning every day.”
4. Additions — on and off the field — kept coming.
Tristan Peters has some defensive highlights, whether it’s leaping at the wall to rob a player of a home run or diving to make a catch. The Sox on Thursday acquired the outfielder in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Peters, 25, spent most of 2025 with Triple-A Durham, slashing .266/.355/.429 with 28 doubles, 15 home runs and 76 RBIs in 136 games. He went 0-for-12 in four games with the Rays.
“Obviously some performance offensively, but I think defensively really interesting,” Venable said. “Any time you can get a plus defender up the middle, it’s really exciting.”
The Sox added to their front office Friday by hiring Carlos Rodriguez as an assistant general manager. Rodriguez joins the Sox after 16 seasons (2010-25) with the Rays. He was promoted to vice president/assistant general manager in Nov. 2022 after serving as vice president of baseball operations in 2022 and vice president of player development and international scouting from 2019-21.
“I’ve known Carlos for many years and have followed his career and impact within the Rays organization,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said in a statement. “He is an intelligent, thoughtful and experienced leader who has contributed meaningfully across nearly every area of baseball operations.
“From major-league season support and research and development to international operations and the execution of a new stadium build, Carlos brings a broad, operationally diverse perspective that will strengthen the White Sox at every level.”