A former Boston Red Sox bench coach received a special gift on his birthday.

According to ESPN and MLB.com on Tuesday, the Chicago White Sox plan to hire Will Venable as their next manager, their 44th in franchise history.

The 42-year-old interviewed for the job when it was last open before the 2023 season, and he served as special assistant to Theo Epstein when the former Red Sox general manager was president of the Chicago Cubs. He also served as the first base coach and third base coach from 2018-2020. Venable became Boston’s bench coach in 2020 where he filled in for Alex Cora multiple times until he became associate manager for the Texas Rangers in 2022.

Venable hopes to take his learnings from Epstein, the Red Sox and the 2023 World Series champion Rangers to the lowly White Sox. Chicago lost 121 games this season, a record low in the modern era. He’ll work with general manager Chris Getz to rebuild the club and set his mark as a major league manager for the first time in his career.

Featured image via Jerome Miron/Imagn Images