Chicago White Sox tabbing ex-Yankees assistant Marcus Thames as new hitting coach

The Chicago White Sox have landed on their next hitting coach in the form of Marcus Thames. Jose Castro previously held this role with the team, but after a dismal performance in 2023, the team is heading in a new direction and will try to revitalize its lineup with Thames.

Robert Murray reported on X, formerly known as Twitter:

"The Chicago White Sox are hiring Marcus Thames as hitting coach, according to sources familiar with the situation."

The Chicago White Sox finished with 101 losses and were nowhere close to being as good as many pundits expected them to be. There are many culprits, but the lackluster offense is one being targeted this offseason already with the hire of Marcus Thames.

---

Chicago White Sox hiring Marcus Thames as hitting coach

The Chicago White Sox have some stars on offense, but they could not mount much of a threat in 2023. When that happens, the blame often falls to the hitting coach. Thus, the White Sox are moving to Marcus Thames for 2024.

Thames is most known for being a former New York Yankees hitter who also served as a hitting coach for them for many years. He was eventually fired from that posting.

He most recently coached with the Los Angeles Angels, so he has plenty of experience. The Yankees' tenure ended poorly, but he knows hitting as a former MLB player and someone who's coached it before.

Marcus Thames coached for the Angels last

The White Sox are bringing in Thames to revitalize Luis Robert, Andrew Benintendi, Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal and others. With the talent they have on paper, they should be able to contend with the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.

That didn't remotely happen in 2023, so some changes are being made. They had also fired their GM mid-season, so a big shakeup has taken place on the South Side.