Chris Denorfia Excited To Join Good Friend Will Venable's White Sox Staff
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Will Venable and Chris Denorfia first teamed up on the 2010 San Diego Padres and shared an outfield until Denorfia was traded to Seattle in 2014.
They remained good friends as coaches in various organizations thereafter, but they were careful to keep personal and professional matters separate –– unless the right opportunity came about.
"I told Will the day he got this job when I congratulated him, I said, ‘I want to take this off the table. I will never ask you for a job. I don’t want to put that strain on our friendship,’ Denorfia said. "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. I told him when I got the job, ‘If you ever need to have a tough conversation with me, just know that this will be kept professional at that level and there will be separation."
Denorfia was not on staff during Venable's first season as a manger for the White Sox in 2025, but in December the White Sox announced Denorfia as the team's new major league field coordinator for the 2026 season.
Denorfia said the opportunity wasn't on his radar when the offseason began, and that it came together in roughly a 48-hour window after being approached by the White Sox. His friendship with Venable added to the excitement around his new role.
"What a special industry we get to work in, and it's kind of rare when you get to actually work with one of your best friends," Denorfia said. "So it's an opportunity I'm not taking lightly, and I'm very, very thankful for. Will and his family mean the world to myself and my family. So that part of it I'm super excited about."
"I've got five years in the clubhouse with Will and I know what he's like in there. He's a very likable personality. Everybody knows that he comes prepared and ready to work, and as I've watched him mature and grow into this role, he's just very good at messaging and getting guys to get on board with it. So he's super organized and just a fantastic leader in the making and currently as well."
Denorfia and Venable were also part of the Cubs' front office and on-field staff in the late 2010s, learning from World Series manager Joe Maddon and president Theo Epstein. Denorfia then went on to spend the last five seasons with the Colorado Rockies, first as Double-A Hartford's manager and then as the organization’s outfield and baserunning coordinator the last two seasons.
He believes having a variety of roles in the baseball world has given him a well-rounded appreciation of the game, and shown him the importance of seamless collaboration from top to bottom when things are moving in the right direction. His most recent role with the Rockies focused on player development, which fits well with a young White Sox roster.
"That's been my sole focus with the guys is trying to unlock something with them and get them to the next level and then keep moving them and keep progressing," Denorfia said. "We would tell the guys, 'we just need you to get a little bit better every day' and then at the end of the year you're going to look back and you spent six months getting a little bit better every day, you're going to be a way better player.'"
"And that's the sort of mentality, the growth mentality that you really need to continue to have at the big league level. Because when you're in the minors, you're chasing a guy up above you. And once you get there, there's a whole bunch of guys behind you chasing you. So you've got to make sure that you keep chasing something so that you stay motivated and stay locked in and keep getting better and produce at the big league level."
Now with the White Sox, Denorfia explained that his role that could take on various responsibilities.
"It kind of varies from org to org," Denorfia said. "So the way it's explained to me and which way I'm gonna tackle it is there's gonna 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 kind of keep improving. There's gonna be some other aspects of it, but that's the part I'm gonna be tackling in spring training and initially just making sure we get off on the right foot and everything is working smoothly."
When the season gets rolling, his tasks could expand to more than just fielding instruction. He mentioned video work with pitch-tipping and helping the White Sox gain an edge on day-to-day game planning as other ways he could assist the young and developing team.
"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," Denorfia said.
Hope that the White Sox can improve in 2026 largely stems from a group that made their MLB debuts last season, such as Colson Montgomery, Shane Smith, Kyle Teel and several others. General manager Chris Getz also made a few notable free agent signings, bringing in starting pitcher Anthony Kay and corner infielder Munetaka Murakami from Japan.
And when it comes to Denorfia's hand in all of this, he's focused on helping those young players take another step forward.
"Especially for a young and up and coming team like this White Sox team is, there's a lot of development still to be had," Denorfia said. "And we don't really know what these guys are capable of yet and that's super exciting because they're all so talented as is. And with that much more room to develop and grow, it's an exciting time to be part of the White Sox."
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack
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