AL DIVISION SERIES: WHITE SOX VS GUARDIANS

October 7, 2026

Will Venable

Rate Field

Chicago White Sox

Pregame 3 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for Will.

Q. Will, it's been nearly two weeks since you clinched a playoff spot. What's the feeling like this morning, knowing you're finally playing in front of these home fans?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, really excited about this. Specifically, obviously, the position we're in to play another playoff game, to be here in Chicago doing it in front of our fans. If you think about the story of our team and how the team has grown so much and the enthusiasm of our team, that's been fueled by our fans and how special some of these moments out on this field have been, the fans really helping this team grow. So, yeah, I just am so happy that we get to play a game here and that they're going to be here supporting us.

It's going to be a crazy environment, but just specifically for the fans, just really happy that they get to experience this with us.

Q. Given how you guys have deployed your pitching staff in the postseason and how other teams have done things, do you think there's a future in the way pitching is being used for the regular season? Do you see this being the next trend in using pitching?

WILL VENABLE: I think that -- I know, obviously, that we've been creative and have done different things to do whatever it takes to find the path to victory. I think that the things that we're doing have been done before and been done a lot.

I don't think that we're necessarily doing anything innovative. I think whether it's in the regular season or in the playoffs, teams do what they have to do to figure things out. Some teams use traditional starters and have guys going seven innings. Some teams are mixing and matching and doing different things.

I think the spirit of how we do it is we're just trying to find a path to victory and doing it by any means possible. I don't think that because this has worked for us in four games this postseason that it's going to change how we look at it or change how the league looks at it. There's a lot of smart people out there that are doing a lot of different things to find ways to win.

Q. Will, your pitching plan after Sean, can you reveal a little bit about it? Like bulk guys and things like that?

WILL VENABLE: No, I mean, not really. I just think that we're going to read and react similar to what we've done. We will have these guys out there throwing, and we'll get inventory on how some of these guys are going. There's a different calculus here, obviously, with a game potentially tomorrow, with no more off days, with what we've used of guys.

So there's a lot of different inputs on this one. Obviously, I wouldn't tell you the exact plan anyway, but truthfully, we're going to be kind of reading and reacting on this one.

Q. Second one is about the fans. Is there any part of a first home game this postseason, half decade even, that they have to guard against being a little bit overhyped? Have you ever seen that with a team playing its first home game, that you have to be a little careful that the crowd doesn't almost work against you a little bit?

WILL VENABLE: I hadn't thought about that. I think that we're in the spirit of putting our foot on the gas here. Whatever that means for the fans, obviously we're not going to put any governors on that or want to do anything but embrace the excitement and embrace the energy.

I think that our guys are going to respond to what should be an electric environment.

Q. How much do you have to monitor how you use Taylor and Smith, because you know as young pitchers, they're going to say I'm always ready. So from the perspective of using them, needing them, protecting them, how much do you go up and back with you and your staff on those things?

WILL VENABLE: A lot. And I think that our process stays the same, obviously, that there's different inputs as far as where you're at in the series that it is the playoffs. But our process is the same, and that's one where we have objective information that gives us an indication on previous usage and where these guys are at and their availability.

We're talking to the players. We're using our eyes. We're evaluating what we see, and those processes and those kind of steps are in place throughout this. And so I think in the case where you use Grant Taylor for four innings, which is something that he hasn't done in a really long time, there's extra sensitivity to that. We're not also, like, looking at a six-month season ahead of us.

So there's different inputs, but I think ultimately the way we go about it to make sure we have a holistic view of protecting the players' health, making sure that they're performing at their best, those types of things are still front and center.

Q. I haven't seen your lineup yet today, but kind of the shoe's on the other foot a little bit in terms of they're also using an opener, and you obviously have a different attack you do for left- and right-handed. How did you respond to maybe the promise of a right-handed pitcher to start but not necessarily for the ball?

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, so we wanted to obviously do the best thing that we can up front. The one thing that we know is that we get Espino up front, so we have the same top four guys. A little bit of a different order. So it's Antonacci, Vargas, Mooney, Teel for our top four. And then we've got Meidroth, Peters, Montgomery, Grichuk, and then Colson.

So that second part of our lineup is a little bit of a response to the unknown that's going to follow Espino, and so we have our righties kind of spaced out with a couple lefties in between, and then we'll read and react as the game goes on. We have Bennie on the bench, Pham, a number of guys -- Doyle that we could pop in different spots to counter some things too.

Q. Will, I know you're not surprised by the talent or the resilience of this group. They've been doing it all year, but there's not a lot of examples of teams that have been in this position before, coming from the bottom and now a game away from the LCS. Have you been surprised at all about how these guys have responded in the postseason, if their backs have been against the wall, on the road, whatever it might be? They just keep checking boxes along the way.

WILL VENABLE: I don't want to say surprised because I think that this group has the belief in that they've kind of dispelled anything that would surprise you about kind of what they could achieve. I think that as we've gone through this that it's been really cool to see these guys just continue to lean into the things that have gotten us here, which is playing for each other, obviously the pregame stuff, the stuff in the clubhouse, kind of the personality of the team and really creating an environment where these guys are having fun and enjoying being around each other. I think that's been cool to see them lean into and kind of carry us and kind of go to places that at the beginning of the year that maybe some people thought that we couldn't get to.

So I don't want to say surprised because of the way that they're doing it and really committing to themselves, but it's been certainly fun to watch.

Q. Will, we just chatted with Miguel. What did you like about his at-bats Monday? A couple walks and obviously the base hit that started the rally in the 6th inning.

WILL VENABLE: Yeah, Varg is in a good spot. I know the Houston series and maybe a couple games at the end of the season, he wasn't in a spot he liked. We're just so used to seeing Miguel go 2 for 3 with a walk and an extra-base hit there. And then I think just a little bit of timing stuff, a little bit of feel at the plate evaded him a little bit.

What I liked about that series or that game in particular was that he just wasn't trying to do too much. I think especially when you're not feeling great at the plate, you're searching for things, maybe you expand the zone and maybe more of a mature approach from Vargy to really stay locked in and be disciplined to good pitch selection and making good swing decisions.

Obviously, big single there against Williams ahead of -- or maybe that was Messick. It's all blurring together for me. He's in a good spot and really happy that he has kind of selflessly not worried about himself. He just wants to do what he can to move the line along and pass the baton.

Q. Will, you've given a lot of credit to Chris Getz over the last several days. What is it about him that has made him a good leader for this organization?

WILL VENABLE: I think he's got a really clear vision of winning, and I think that he's a really bright guy. He's a really good communicator and he understands what it's like to be a player, which I think is really important.

I think one of the best parts about what we have going on, aside from all the great work he's doing in the organization as far as developing the player development department, R&D, scouting, is the environment that we have. He knows what it's like to go to work every day in a place that you're allowed to be yourself, that you're excited to go to, and he really sets the tone for that.

So I think, yeah, really smart guy that has a really good understanding of organizational kind of dynamics and how to help move things along, but also what it means to be a player, to be a coach, to come to work every day.

Q. Will, I don't think any of us would like to play poker with you because you really don't show much emotion one way or the other. How important is that to, as a head of men out there and a manager, make sure that emotion doesn't ever take you over because you're aware of the other people around you and how you want to portray yourself?

WILL VENABLE: I think it's really important. It's not something that I've done -- that's easy, you know. I mean, there's emotions in this game, and I've been as a player, as a coach, felt the emotional roller coaster of a game, of a season, but have had some really good managers and been able to see what their steadiness has done for me, has done for our group, and so that's something that, coming into this job, I knew was going to be an important thing for me.

It's not always perfect. I certainly have my moments and am definitely feeling the emotions that come with all of this, especially in the playoffs. I mean, it's a lot out there. But I think, one, it's important to give stability to the group. But, also, I think that I do have a ton of confidence not just in our players but in our coaching staff too.

So that makes it easier for me to do as well.

Q. To ask you about a guy who seems like he has been in a good spot the whole playoffs, Chase Meidroth. He wasn't billed as your top prospect when he arrived or doesn't get All-Star recognition, but end of the season, he's looking like one of the better second basemen in the league. Seems like he has a new level that he's tapped into the playoffs. What have you seen about his ability to rise up, or when did you get an idea this could be somebody who's among the elite in the game?

WILL VENABLE: It's been really fun to watch Chase grow, obviously, starting last year when we got him up here and the things that he's done. Yeah, you mentioned it specifically here now in the playoffs, even at the end of the season as these games have become more and more important towards the end of the regular season, then obviously into what is very important baseball here in the playoffs, he's stepping up.

It's cool to watch different guys respond to the next level of pressure that comes with being in these spots. He's clearly somebody that embraces that, that wants to be in those spots. He wants to be in the middle of everything and doesn't shy down from anything.

Yeah, if you look at the guy as -- I don't know what round pick he was, a fourth-round pick or whatever, probably not at the top of any prospect list, that has kind of had to have played the underdog role for a lot of his career, I think it's cool to see him continue to face these moments and attack them and really turn himself into what I think -- we all think is one of the best second basemen in this league.

Q. Will, I know you're focused on today, winning today, finishing the series. But in a week where Bears are playing the Packers, there's a Chicago marathon, do you think your guys have taken it in that you're kind of the center of Chicago right now?

WILL VENABLE: I don't know if they're looking at it like that or -- I mean, I'm not. I'm not sure that they are. I think these guys are just so excited to come to the ballpark every day. It really is -- it's been the center of their summer every day, coming especially to this ballpark. Playing in front of our fans is a special opportunity every day.

So I think that they're focused on that and having another opportunity to play here at home. So I think that's kind of where their minds are at.

THE MODERATOR: Will, thanks for coming in.

WILL VENABLE: Thanks, guys.