The Chicago White Sox parted ways with several members of their 2025 coaching staff at season’s end — most notably pitching coach Ethan Katz and hitting coach Marcus Thames.

That gave the organization an opportunity to refresh Will Venable’s major league staff — and for once, Venable had the autonomy to shape it himself. Alongside GM Chris Getz, senior advisor Brian Bannister, and director of hitting Ryan Fuller, the group set out to find coaching voices that aligned with the modern, data-driven philosophy now defining White Sox player development.

They’ve found their guys.

According to a report from James Fegan of Sox Machine, the White Sox are set to hire Derek Shomon as their new hitting coach and Zach Bove as their new pitching coach.

Derek Shomon: Local Roots and a Developmental Mindset

Shomon, a Chicago-area native and Glenbrook South graduate, brings deep ties to independent baseball. He spent several years coaching for the Schaumburg Boomers (Frontier League), earning a promotion to hitting coach in 2020 — a season that never happened due to the pandemic.

The following year, he joined the Minnesota Twins as a Low-A hitting coach and climbed quickly through the ranks. By 2023, he was part of the Twins’ major league staff under David Popkins, and in 2025, he served as assistant hitting coach for the Miami Marlins, helping oversee an offense that produced breakout All-Star Kyle Stowers and his 35-homer campaign.

Shomon has built a reputation as a data-driven, developmental-minded teacher — someone who blends traditional hitting instruction with analytical insight. He’s a fresh voice with a local connection and a proven track record of helping players grow.

Zach Bove: A Modern Pitching Mind

Bove took a nontraditional route to the big leagues. A former college hitter who transitioned into pitching instruction, he joined the Minnesota Twins organization early in his coaching career and later spent three seasons as a minor league pitching coordinator, specializing in biomechanics and analytics.

In 2023, the Kansas City Royals hired Bove as assistant pitching coach and director of major league strategy — a hybrid role focused on data integration and motion analysis. Under his guidance, the Royals ranked top 10 in ERA over the past two seasons, with young arms like Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, and Noah Cameron showing significant improvement.

Bove is widely viewed as a forward-thinking, analytically savvy pitching coach — the type who can translate lab work into on-field performance. He also shares some overlap with White Sox assistant GM Jin Wong from their time together in Kansas City.

Two Hires That Fit the Mold

Both Shomon and Bove fit the mold of what the White Sox have been moving toward — young, modern coaches with recent big-league experience and a developmental focus.

Under Getz, Bannister, and Fuller, biomechanics and data-driven player development have become core pillars of the organization’s identity. It only makes sense for the major league staff to reflect that same vision.

These hires mark a continuation of the White Sox’s shift toward a more progressive baseball operation — analytically inclined, development-focused, and rooted in collaboration.