Chad Pinder isn’t far removed from his playing days.
He retired after the 2023 season, which saw him spend time at the Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals and Braves. Before that, he spent seven seasons with the Athletics. He said he didn’t know what he would do after playing, but that his former manager, Bob Melvin had planted a seed while he was a player.
“Once I got to the big leagues and I was in that non-everyday player role and in a position that was kind of a quiet leadership role, Bob Melvin would always jokingly say, ‘You’re going to manage one day,’” Pinder said Thursday on Zoom. “And in my head I was like, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ And so I stopped playing in 2023 and was really trying to figure out what I wanted to do.”
Pinder started grad school, but it wasn’t until his wife gave him the push that he considered coaching. Director of player development Paul Janish offered him a job managing at Single-A Kannapolis last season. On Thursday, Pinder was announced as the Triple-A Charlotte Knights manager.
“You trust him to go there and create an environment where guys are going to work,” Janish said. “It can, inadvertently at times, but Triple A can become a little bit of a holding tank and a level where older guys can become a little disgruntled at times. [The organization has] a tremendous amount of trust in Chad, and I’m confident that he’s going to accomplish whatever his goals are in this game and have those opportunities in all likelihood probably sooner than later, but for the time being, we’re fired up and excited about him being in Charlotte.”
For a Sox team that had six prospects land in Baseball America’s top 100 list — left-hander Noah Schultz (No. 26) infielder Caleb Bonemer (No. 27), outfielder Braden Montgomery (No. 73), left-hander Hagen Smith (No. 91), infielder Billy Carlson (No. 92) and right-hander Tanner McDougal (No. 100) — Pinder will have an important role as he helps develop some of the team’s young players as they are on the doorstep of the majors.
Pinder said that his messaging won’t change much as he progresses from Single A to Triple A. He just wants his players to go out and play freely. Having been around an accomplished manager like Melvin, and stars such as Marcus Semien, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman will be critical for Pinder as he begins his Triple-A career. He had to carve out a role and be comfortable playing the outfield. He also learned about analytics from his time in Oakland.
“I was a platoon player, and while yes, I wanted to be out there competing every single day, I look back at my career, and I’m extremely grateful for the managers I had and their knowledge to put me in situations to succeed, which ultimately kept me around longer,” Pinder said. “So I do lean on the numbers. I do think there’s an aspect to the game where our job is to put the players in advantageous spots to be successful.”
Patrick Leyland will manage Double-A Birmingham. Former Sox player Jayson Nix will manage Single-A Kannapolis. Daniel Gonzalez will manage the Arizona Complex League White Sox.
