McEwing drawing interest for manager gigs

CLEVELAND -- The White Sox entire coaching staff is expected to be back for 2018, according to comments made by general manager Rick Hahn at his season-wrap press conference Thursday in Chicago.
But the end-of-season buzz surrounding bench coach Joe McEwing for managerial openings around baseball could change that configuration. McEwing lives in Philadelphia and could be a fit for the Phillies' vacancy. He also knows the Tigers from facing them as part of the White Sox coaching staff.
While McEwing is honored to be mentioned, he's perfectly satisfied with the job he has.
"I'm honored to have a job here with the White Sox," McEwing told MLB.com on Saturday. "The organization has been amazing to me from the beginning. One thing I will never do is actively seek out an opportunity. I believe you don't want to pound the pavement and actively look for something when you already have a good situation.
"My ultimate goal is to manage, but you know, if it happens, it happens. If not, it doesn't justify who I am as a person or as a baseball mind. If teams call and ask for permission, that would be outstanding, but I don't actively want to go out there and search for something. It's rewarding to be mentioned in those articles and in the company of a lot of great baseball people."
McEwing has been through the managerial interview process previously. He interviewed for the Cardinals' vacancy in the offseason of 2011 before beginning his job as third-base coach for Robin Ventura and the White Sox. He also interviewed for the Diamondbacks, Rangers and Twins openings in the same week during the offseason of '14.
In his first year as White Sox bench coach, McEwing has been a valuable component in Rick Renteria's staff and has brought a good mix of old-school and new-school metrics. But his lone focus this weekend is helping the White Sox finish strong in the first stage of this rebuild.
"Our organization, from top to bottom, has done an amazing job to put us in a position moving forward to be successful," said McEwing, who has managed three seasons at the Minor League level. "I'm so proud of these guys the way they've gone about their business every single day this year."
"I would never want to hold anybody back from any potential opportunity that presents itself to them," said Renteria in reference to outside opportunities for his staff. "The rest of that is more of a decision on the individual in terms of what they'd like to do moving forward. But we always want everybody to do the best that they possibly can and take advantage of any opportunities that are presented to them."