AL DIVISION SERIES: WHITE SOX VS GUARDIANS

October 4, 2026

Will Venable

Progressive Field

Chicago White Sox

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Sounds like Sean is coming into the game a little later. How are you planning on setting things up here in Game 1 against the Guardians pitching?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. We're going to start with Anthony Kay up front here and then figure it out as we go. Obviously we'll have Sean in a role at some point behind Anthony. Got a number of other guys that will be available as well.

Q. What has Anthony shown you so far in these couple of postseason outings?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. It's been interesting watching him in a different type of role, shorten down. You've seen the velo tick up. I think the one thing is he just hasn't been afforded kind of that length to get comfortable. He's made some really big pitches, got us out of some really tough spots.

We just haven't really seen us go beyond that. It's been really short stints here, but yeah, he's really responded well to a new role coming out of the pen.

Q. Kyle Teel had missed a lot of the year between WBC and three different injuries, but seems to really kind of found a rhythm. He said the more he catches, the better he feels. He feels worse when he has a couple days off.

What have you seen just in terms of his increased effectiveness as he's gotten healthy and played frequently?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. I think you characterized it really well. He just has gotten better and better as he's been exposed to more innings, more games after a really choppy regular season, which as you mentioned, he just never really had any runway, a bunch of injuries.

He's really come into his own and gotten comfortable in a way in which we've seen the best version of Kyle Teel both behind the plate and at the plate.

And so, yeah, really excited about Kyle. And obviously we would have loved to have Kyle throughout the season, but I think the one benefit of not having had him play a full season was that we're putting him in there every single day. And certainly at the end of the regular season, we asked a lot of him. I don't know how many games in a row he played with just maybe an off day or two in there for the team. But, yeah, he's been outstanding and just getting better and better as he gets exposed to more games.

Q. Would you describe him as a high energy guy?

WILL VENABLE: Undersells his personality. He does a really good job of really staying focused. And I know that it's a job in which there's so much asked of him between what he needs to do at the plate, to solve for really good pitching and then behind the plate to get not just our guys through there, but a number of different guys.

I mean, how we use our pitching staff, you know, he's gotta be dialed into a lot of different arms and what they're doing to each hitter. So it's a heavy load that he's carrying, but he's doing a great job.

Q. Given the way you guys are kind of working through these playoffs with your pitching, how big is an off day like this for you checking in on how guys feel after throwing yesterday? I would imagine that's at the top of the list for you, things you gotta get done considering this is such a big deal?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, it is. Yeah, the way it's set up here with the two off days in between these first three games gives us a chance to go ahead.

Obviously in Game 1, we asked a lot of Hagen, and obviously a ton out of Grant. Give them some rest and then check in and make sure that we have clarity in where we're at inventory wise going into Game 2. So it's definitely a benefit to us.

Obviously the Guardians are able to benefit from that as well, but certainly how we're set up to do this over the first three, it's nice to have these off days and make sure that we know exactly where we're at going into Game 2.

Q. You said that it was a possibility that Hagen and Grant would pitch in each of the first three games. Is that something you have to budget their usage at all or once you get into the game, is it kind of difficult to -- because they're kind of your most effective offense, you want to use them as long as it works? Or is it just kind of game by game checking how they feel after each one and that will determine if it's really possible for them to pitch all three?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. I think that's the way you go about it. I think we really like Grant Taylor and Hagen Smith. Obviously there's a lot to like with these guys, and we want to use them to win games, but we want to be responsible also.

We don't want injuries and, I mean, like if Grant is going to pitch four innings every game, I think we will like kill him, right? He will not survive all that exposure, as much as we want him to be in the game. And he probably would tell you that he could pitch four innings tomorrow. He is a guy that really wants to be in there. Hagen is the same way.

So we are taking it game by game. Obviously there was a big ask there in Game 1 from both of those guys, but knowing that we have these off days, we're comfortable with the idea of using them how we used them in Game 1, giving them the off day and being responsible about how we use them in Game 2.

Q. Assuming he does survive, is Grant kind of -- the start of the season, it was kind of like you wanted to build his innings up and you wanted to develop to a starter point.

Is he doing something that's in the middle between relieving and starting or something maybe you can help him down the road if that is the direction he goes in?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. Maybe. Certainly in the case of yesterday when he pitches four innings, the idea of Grant starting, which is something that we've talked about and will continue to talk about in the future, becomes more enticing and you see what it looks like and it becomes exciting.

But, yeah, I think we're just taking these a game at a time and kind of seeing where we're at knowing that he certainly got the capacity to do some special things.

Q. Sean was saying that he felt great stuff and in Houston just made a few mistakes. What did you think of his outing and what do you think he needs to clean up going into tomorrow?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. I thought he did great. One of the things we really monitor and how we evaluate guys' performance is the race to two strikes, getting two strikes before two balls there.

And he was 14 out of 14 last outing, which is I think a record for our guys this year. So as far as pounding the zone, that's what we want to see out of Sean. And if he's got command and he's being effective in the zone, he's going to get a lot of outs for you no matter who he's facing.

So he's in a really good spot. Obviously with that lineup, it was a traditional start for him. We've also seen him pitch in a bulk role after an opener and be really effective, too. So really excited about Sean tomorrow, and yeah, expect him to be effective as well.

Q. Obviously you guys have played against Gavin Williams a multitude of times at this point. But there was a particular moment where Tristan Peters a couple of games ago, September 14th, he had an 18-pitch at-bat against Williams.

When you think about the mindset or the mentality of attacking a pitcher or trying to draw him out, how important is it for you guys to make him throw pitches in that way?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, I think it's really important. And I've said this before, I don't know how anyone hits Gavin Williams. I mean, when I think about effective starters in this league and just how physical he is, he's got the extension. He throws 100 miles an hour. He can really spin the baseball. It's a real challenge.

And so you go into the starts against him knowing that it's going to be a battle and kind of have the mentality that Tristan Peters had in that at-bat where it's a grind, and that's how you're going to have to beat him, if you can at all.

So I think that's a great example to point to as far as kind of what our mentality will be in, what you're going to have to cover a number of different pitches. You're going to have to foul some pitches off. You're going to have to find a way to put some balls in play and make it tough on him to get through our lineup, which he's really good at doing.

Yeah, we'll hopefully have a couple more Tristan Peter at-bats like he did last time.

Q. You guys have been aggressive this year on the bases to the point where it's kind of one of your calling cards. What Justin said yesterday about Kyle Teel worked out, you guys scored the run. Even at this time of the year where outs are so crucial, are you okay with that even if he gets thrown out because that's kind of the way you play, smartly aggressive?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. You have to be responsible, but we do want to be aggressive, and especially in low-run scoring environments like these are going to be. Even when we go back to Chicago, we expect with their pitching staff and with the way that our arms are throwing right now that the runs are going to come at a premium and you're going to have to take some chances.

And certainly in the case yesterday, where the ball beats Kyle and it would be safe, and you love the send. I loved it even if he was thrown out there. That's a good aggressive send. It might be our best chance to score that inning. So I love the aggressiveness. It's not always going to work out, but that's okay. We just gotta keep our foot on the gas.

Q. At the end of the season with Colson with the strike out record and kind of just not having the second half he wanted, just kind of the idea that playoffs could be like a clean slate for him and kind of a refresh not think about what he was struggling through the end of the season, how much have you seen that play out in terms of his temperament, his approach so far the postseason?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. Results wise, it's indicated that he feels good about having that in the rearview mirror or. As far as his demeanor and what he's brought to the clubhouse every day, I haven't seen a change. I thought he did a great job throughout all of his struggles towards the end of the year, maintaining a positive attitude, really carrying himself in a positive way.

So I haven't seen a refreshed Colson that's going out there with more confidence or anything. I think he's in a good spot at the plate, but I don't know how much you attribute that to the fact that he was able to hit the reset button.

Q. When you first became manager of the White Sox, what did you feel you needed to change at that time?

WILL VENABLE: I don't know if I came in saying there was anything I needed to change. I really just wanted to do my part in helping bringing Getz's vision of winning to life. He was very clear about what he thought it looked like. And as he outlined his plan and what his values were, I was very much in line with that, which is why I ultimately thought that it was a good partnership and that this was going to be a place in which we could help the organization move forward.

So as we've got into it, there's been things and areas in which I think that there are clear areas in which we want to attack and to improve, and he's gone about doing that in a very productive way.

So, yeah, I just was on board with the vision and wanted to do my part to help him.

Q. I don't know if there's a new way to ask about Mike Vasil, but have you learned anything from watching the way he's handled this year?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah. I've learned I think a lot of just how special he is, and I think it's really easy to look at the things that he's done in our clubhouse and for the culture of our club.

And it's certainly an energy and a vibes guy, and he's a great teammate. But I've forgotten through all of this that he's a Major League player that's dealing with Tommy John surgery and that there's a lot of things that he's working through personally.

And the ability to work through those things personally and the energy that it takes to work through those things and then be positive like he is every day and give so much to his teammates takes a special person, and I think when we talk about the story of this year, however it ends up, Mike Vasil is going to be in the middle of it because of how special he is and the impact that he's had.