White Sox agree Charlie Montoyo should stay as far away as possible from MLB manager job

A broken clock is right at least twice a day. The Chicago White Sox are the worst team in baseball and have been broken for a long time. Basically everything they touched went to pieces during a historic 21-game losing streak that only recently ended. Emerging from the ashes of that misery, however, may be a distinct message about just how far a member of their coaching staff had fallen.

The White Sox decided to pull the trigger and become the first team in baseball to fire a manager in 2024. They didn't just fire a field manager. Chicago absolutely cleaned house and one of the gentlemen sent packing was ex-Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo. Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar all lost their jobs. Landing in Chicago shortly after his Blue Jays firing, Montoyo was brought in to work with a young manager and maybe rehabilitate his image. It seems like he failed on both counts.

This was supposed to be a soft landing for the Puerto Rican. It would be a chance to mentor a young manager and learn lessons that he could take into another job. Many observers probably thought he would get another shot at managing. It seemed like he was blamed for a multitude of factors outside of his control in Toronto. Montoyo is generally well-liked by players, even if there are questions about his leadership/discipline skills. Does he run too much of a relaxed atmosphere in the clubhouse?

Fast forward and the breaking news is that he lost out on an interim manager position to Grady Sizemore. The former outfielder? Sizemore's lengthy managing history includes an internship with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season and a special advisor role in Cleveland during the 2017 season. Sizemore is only one season into his tenure on the South Side but clearly an impression was made. Best wishes are sent to Sizemore because the White Sox have proven to be an absolute mess. The process behind the hiring of Pedro Grifol was flawed from the very beginning. Remember when the Sox dragged Tony La Russa out of retirement for a season-plus of mostly ineptitude?

Even if Montoyo did get the interim gig, does anyone really think that Montoyo was going to win with a dysfunctional team like Chicago? No manager will win until they make serious changes in how business is done. In fact, Montoyo may prove successful elsewhere. Plus, no one on planet Earth will disagree that he may be the nicest personality in the game. The issue is that he simply isn't a great baseball manager. He doesn't do anything extraordinarily well. It's not that he runs a chaotic clubhouse, but instead that not enough discipline is present when it matters. His teams aren't abysmal, but they always fail to reach the next level. The 236-236 record during his time in Canada perfectly captures that phenomenon. The White Sox sent that message and the question now is whether the rest of baseball was paying attention.