Chicago White Sox hire Marcus Thames as their hitting coach

CHICAGO (AP) — Marcus Thames was hired Tuesday as their hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox, who lured him from a similar job with the Los Angeles Angels.

Thames joined manager Pedro Grifol’s staff after spending last season in that role with Los Angeles.

Powered by Shohei Ohtani’s American League-leading 44 homers, the Angels finished third in the AL with 231. They were fifth in the league slugging percentage, seventh in both OPS and walks and tied for seventh in extra-base hits.

The 47-year-old Thames worked as the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach in 2022 and served in the same capacity for the Yankees from 2018-21. He also served as the New York’s assistant hitting coach from 2016-17.

The White Sox also hired Matt Wise as assistant pitching coach. He spent the past three years as the Angels’ pitching coach. Ohtani went 34-16 with a 2.84 ERA and 542 strikeouts in 74 starts in that span.

Chicago has also added Jason Bourgeois (first base/outfield), Drew Butera (catching) and three-time All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore (major league coach) to the staff. Bench coach Charlie Montoyo and pitching coach Ethan Katz return along with Mike Tosar (assistant hitting) and Eddie Rodríguez (third base/infield).

The White Sox went 61-101 in Grifol’s first season. Top executives Ken Williams and Rick Hahn were fired in August and replaced by Chris Getz, who was promoted to general manager after overseeing the farm system. ___

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