AL WILD CARD SERIES: WHITE SOX VS ASTROS

September 28, 2026

Will Venables

Daikin Park

Chicago White Sox

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Will, do you have any further knowledge on starting pitcher tomorrow, and if not, what are you surveying in terms of the landscape right now?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, we have a tentative game plan right now. We're not going to announce this year.

We have these guys out there throwing right now. Depending on how some guys feel and as we are trying to, you know, match up availability with how these guys are feeling, we'll map it out a little bit more with more certainty after these guys throw, but you can expect more of a bullpen type game from us.

Q. Will, do you view that as a like a pure bullpen game or do you imagine the bulk starter of some kind or a bulk innings guy of some flavor?

WILL VENABLE: I think there could be a lot of different ways we go about it. I would anticipate less of a traditional bulk guy in there, although guys who you might have seen in bulk may pitch in shorter stints.

I think there's a lot on the table, but kind of having a traditional opener followed by, you know, a three or four-inning bulk guy is probably not how we're going to go about it.

Q. Just how encouraging was it to get Chase into the game there on Saturday, and how is he doing hitting on into tomorrow?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, Chase is in a really good spot. We're tentative about putting him in there in that spot. He was adamant that he was good to go on a much shorter stint. Once he got out there, a really good swing, hit a double, get to second, and then wasn't able to advance home, but he tested it out.

I think having yesterday as a day where he was totally off and then today in which he's going to be, you know, working out, but more mellow and not having to go at game speed, puts us in a good spot. I think we're pretty confident that he's going to be maybe not 100%, but as close to, you know, a normal version of Chase as we can get right now.

Q. I guess a big picture question for you: Have you had time to just sit back and reflect on how far your team came from last year to this year? I know you've probably been asked about it before, but now that the game is tomorrow, have you had a chance to think about that and what you guys have accomplished?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, I think after the game yesterday we sat back just for a second and said, wow, you know, 84 wins is nothing to sneeze at. We're certainly very proud of the fact that we were able to get 84 wins. That was also coming on the heels of a little bit of disappointment in not getting the division, which was something that we had set out to and became a very realistic goal for us.

Really throughout the year we sat back and been appreciative of what this group has continued to accomplish, but yeah, there was a moment yesterday after the game where we just paused for a second and said, hey, you know, we understand we have the playoffs coming up, we understand this is all behind us as far as the regular season, but we're proud of the fact that we were able to get 84 wins and all the progress that has really led to that.

Q. Will, do you guys expect Jake Rogers back?

WILL VENABLE: Jake Rogers will be back. Yes, he was on paternity leave. We'll expect him back and talk about his roster availability as we tighten those things up.

Q. This is obviously a big stage, and you guys are such a young team, but Mooney is a guy that is very young but still has a lot of experience in Japan and international stage, so what do you expect from him at this big stage?

WILL VENABLE: You know, I expect Mooney to be ready and to be himself, just like the rest of these guys, and obviously playoff baseball is different. Mooney has played in the playoffs before in Japan, but I think this is going to be different for everybody.

At the same time, there's been leverage moments in very intense environments that all our players have played in. He talk about games in New York against the Yankees, going and playing at Wrigley, some games against good teams at the Rate this year, which are very intense environments where we've had high-leverage situations, and these guys have felt what that feels like.

This is obviously going to be a little bit different, but in that same vein as intense as it gets, and you're going to be challenged the same way to be able to stay focused, you know, really embrace the moment and go out and perform at your best.

I would expect Mooney having also experience in all those things and everything in his past to be just fine and step up to the plate and handle these big situations.

Q. Given it's the best of three and every decision is going to count, have you talked to the guys about ABS challenges? You've had kind of a mixed bag with success there, and the fact that those can come in pretty key in a series this short.

WILL VENABLE: In general, the messaging from us with the ABS stuff has been challenging. I think that it has been one in which we are not sure that there's one right way to go about this. Ultimately, you want to give your guys the confidence to use these and understand that they have a skill in which they have to, you know, very quickly make a decision.

You also have to have an understanding of the leverage, but you also just don't want to make it such a big deal that they're scared to fire off these challenges when it could be very, very impactful. So I think as we've gone through this year and tried to figure out what's the right messaging, what's the right thing and approach to deliver to our players, I think it is a little fluid.

I think they have a good understanding of that, and just because you lose a challenge in the first inning, doesn't mean that that's not a good challenge. Just because you don't win a challenge doesn't mean it's not a good challenge. The worst thing and what we've made clear -- the worst thing that can happen is that we get to an end of the game and we have two challenges left, and we've missed a bunch of opportunities to use our challenges.

So it's very nuanced. It's very complicated in how you want to do it, but I think our guys are in a good frame of mind and have a good understanding of how to use challenges and the confidence that you need to be able to use those the right way.

Q. The last time you were here you had the team taking BP on a get-away day, and you were talking about how statistically performance had not been as good in the afternoon as night games. This is splitting the difference with 4:00 p.m., but did you feel like you found a balance or rhythm that had things more normal in afternoon games down the stretch or that you feel good about taking into the playoffs?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, I think so. Those things, as those narratives come throughout the season and, you know, you look at it and you look up and you're, like, wow, we haven't been performing on day games as well as night games, and you want to do everything you can to support these guys to be at their best. Does that mean doing something different in the morning? Does it mean hitting on the field? We explored some of those things.

I think at the end of the day, especially when it comes to the playoffs, we're going to get ready for the game and we're going to go play. I don't think we're worried about the timing of the game as much. I'm not sure that we were able to fully solve for our day game woes, if that's what you want to call them.

Maybe it just was coincidental. I'm not sure how much there was for us to really recalibrate, but as far as going into this with these game times, it's not something that we're thinking about. We're doing our normal pregame stuff, which will include an advanced meeting, defense, and going out and taking BP.

Q. I'm sure there are a lot, but what are the challenges of facing a hitter like Yordan Alvarez, and how do you balance? Do you walk him, or what do you do considering what Paredes has done behind him?

WILL VENABLE: That's one of the issues. As great as Yordan is, he's not the only really good hitter in their lineup, so you can't just totally say, Hey, we're not going to let Yordan beat us, and walk him every time.

I will say, though, that we do have an understanding of how good Yordan is and how much he can hurt us, and we'll be very clear in our attack plans with him.

At the same time, on a staff side, we'll talk about the different situations in which an intentional walk is or is not appropriate and just go into that game with as much clarity around that as possible.

Then, you know, yeah, hopefully he doesn't beat you, and hopefully the guys behind him don't beat you either. But it is, to your point, challenging with such a good hitter. You give him as much attention as you can, understanding how he can impact you, but also knowing that, you know, just offering a free base can hurt you too with the quality of hitters that they have behind him.

Q. When you were with the Rangers you were in this situation as a road team in the Wild Card Series. Just in general, what did you learn from working with Bochy? He was known for being such a good playoff -- a great playoff manager. What did you learn from him on kind of buttons you can push and the fine line of the decisions you have to make?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, I think there's a lot of things in game in and watching him, you know, kind of negotiate what it means to do everything you can to win this game, but also be mindful of the series.

I think obviously during the course of the season, there's different impacts when you have so much more beyond the series that you have to give considerations to and less in a series, but there are still those considerations of what the entire series looks like.

For me, I think the biggest thing that I took from Boch is just the ability to create consistency from the regular season environment into the playoff environment where obviously things are going to change as far as the magnitude, what the players are feeling as far as the pressure, the intensity, but doing everything you can on a staff level with meetings, that the meetings look and feel the same, that our pregame work looks and feels the same, so these guys aren't having additional pressure coming from the staff in the form of, you know, more details in the game reports or whatever it might be.

We want to keep things very much consistent so they can feel as much consistency as possible knowing that that ultimately is going to be impossible once they hit the field.

Q. It sounds like Houston is kind of leaning towards a bullpen approach for Game 1 as well. You guys have had fairly dedicated righty and lefty lineups. What kind of challenges did that bullpen present? How much does it help to have a guy like Grichuk, who is hitting from both sides or hitting against both sides pretty well?

WILL VENABLE: I think Grichuk is one guy if they're going to throw a bullpen game at you, he gives you a lot of flexibility in how you want to put together your lineup. He's somebody that I think there's plenty of argument for to just put in the lineup because he's been so good.

Also, the idea of withholding him for a leverage at-bat against a left-hander is a pretty nice bullet to have also. So as far as who they start, regardless if it's a bullpen game, I think who they start really does matter, and you try and do your best to try to think along with what they might do and see how that impacts your lineup.

But we'll talk about it. We'll see who they end up starting, and we'll talk about it knowing that somebody like Grich, a lot of these guys, you know, regardless of whether lefty or righty starting, have been valuable for us.

Q. You talked about alleviating the pressure on the players. How do you handle the pressure in this being your first playoff as a manager and all the scrutiny that goes along with that?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, just the preparation, just like we've done the whole year. I think it's been really good reps for us, myself and the staff over the last two or three years as each one of these games have felt more and more like they're going to impact our season.

Obviously that is as intense as it gets here in the playoffs, but preparation. You know, we have a lot of confidence in our preparation and how we go about it. Every decision that we make is very thoughtful. Our process for that decision we feel like at this point is really dialed in.

That doesn't mean that we're going to get it right every time. That doesn't mean that that move is going to work all the time, but certainly our process at this point we feel like is very dialed in to all the details and all the different things that this game is inevitably going to throw at us.

Like you mentioned, it's the playoffs. The scrutiny and everything and the impact of each one of these decisions means more, but I'm excited about it. I'm ready for it. Our staff is ready for it, too.

Q. Will, Sean Burke said yesterday -- I'm paraphrasing a little bit -- but the opponent is the opponent, but if you guys play your game, he feels confident that you guys get the job done. Do you sort of agree? Do you understand the point he's coming from? Do you agree with that?

WILL VENABLE: I think I agree with it. I think that what Burky is talking about and, again, without being there in that conversation, you know, that is about us. It's always been about us. We this entire year have gone up against opponents in which that have been favored against us, everyone has counted us out against, and I don't know how this one is being characterized publicly, but we feel like going through a season of that, we very much feel like our success is about us and the things that we can control.

I think that's probably a good approach in this game in general as far as baseball goes because there are so many things that you can't control. You do have to be very dedicated and committed to the things that you can control, and that's what I'm so proud of our group for having done throughout this year is that they understand what those things are and how they need to do them and execute them to win baseball games.

Yeah, I'm right there with Burky that this is about us and doing the things that we can control knowing that we're playing a very good team that has the ability to take advantage of any mistake that we make.

Q. I know you want to get through tomorrow, but with guys on regular rest, have you thought about a starter for Wednesday looking ahead a little bit?

WILL VENABLE: Nope.

Q. I guess piggybacking off the question, the first one, not the second one, you guys dropped to 5 out of 7 to this team, especially the last series, but that kind of felt like it was coming during maybe one of your more difficult stretches of the season. Do you feel like more so of that being a reflection of how you match up against this group that you maybe righted the ship since then, and what kind of are the indicators that you are playing a different brand of baseball than you were the last time you were here?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, I think we are playing better baseball recently, more recently than when we faced these guys. I think that for us it's largely around our offense and how our offense has been performing throughout this year.

The time that we last played the Astros, not sure we were quite clicking on all cylinders there. Feel a lot better about where our offense is coming into this one.

At the same time, they beat us. It wasn't like we were making a bunch of errors all over the place and giving them extra bases. Sure, there was some of that, but they just beat us because they're a good team, and they played better than us.

We're going to have to find a way. I think it starts with our pitching and trying to get some outs, especially early. Then we're going to have to find ways to score, and I think that we're in a better spot to do both of those things than we were the last time, but you know, we'll see. Astros are a really good team.