White Sox to Interview Yankees' Carlos Mendoza For Manager Opening

The Yankees have been bracing for Carlos Mendoza's departure for several years, understanding that their bench coach is a top candidate within the industry for openings at manager within other organizations.

They'll have to sweat it out this offseason once again as he goes through the interview process with the White Sox.

New York granted permission to Chicago to interview Mendoza for their manager opening, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Mendoza recently wrapped up his third season as New York's bench coach, his 14th year working within the Yankees organization. The Venezuela native served as the Yankees' Major League quality control and infield coach from 2018 to 2019 before he took over for Josh Bard as bench coach leading up to the 2020 season.

The 42-year-old played 10 Minor League seasons from 1997 to 2009.

White Sox got permission to interview Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza for manager opening. White Sox search has been mostly a mystery. Ozzie Guillen, Ron Washington and Joe Espada have been mentioned but none of those 3 are seen now as especially likely.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 31, 2022

Mendoza was considered for the Red Sox and Tigers manager openings before the 2021 season. When Yankees manager Aaron Boone took a medical leave of absence to receive a pacemaker in spring training last year, Mendoza briefly served as New York's interim manager. That was an opportunity for general manager Brian Cashman to sing his praises.

"I don't know if anyone works as hard as Carlos Mendoza and his ceiling is extremely high. I was bracing myself if we lost him," Cashman said in March of 2021, comparing the situation to a player landing on the waiver wire. "His day is coming without a doubt. He is going to manage a Major League team and I think he's going to be really good at it."

In Chicago, Tony La Russa stepped down as manager due to health concerns earlier this month. The 78-year-old was in his second season as manager of the White Sox, under contract for one more year.

"Carlos is extremely talented, extremely organized, bilingual, the players trust him," Cashman said back in March. "He's a superior candidate for the next chair within the industry and we're fortunate right now that he's here."

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