Nicky Delmonico back with White Sox as minor-league hitting coach

As the injuries started piling up over the past few seasons, Nicky Delmonico started thinking about his future.

"I knew I was inching closer to becoming a coach after my body just couldn't take it anymore," said Delmonico, an outfielder with the White Sox from 2017-20. "It was that time, so I reached out to (Chris) Getz and I told him I was really serious about becoming a coach."

Getz, the Sox's assistant general manager and director of player development, initially thought the 29-year-old Delmonico had more baseball left in him and was joking around.

But after Delmonico was released by the Reds last May, the talks became more serious.

On Wednesday, Delmonico was named hitting coach for the White Sox's high Class A Winston-Salem affiliate.

The Sox also announced their 2022 player development staff and there were two other notable moves.

Patrick Leyland, the son of longtime major-league manager Jim Leyland, was hired to manage the Arizona Complex League White Sox.

Jasmine Dunston is joining the Sox as the new director of minor-league operations, replacing the retired Grace Guerrero Zwit.

Hired by the late Roland Hemond, Zwit spent 40 years in the White Sox's baseball operations department, the last 14 as senior director.

Dunston's father, Shawon, played 18 major-league seasons, 12 with the Cubs.

Delmonico decided to quit playing after dealing with major injuries to his shoulder, knees, elbow and "broken bones along the way."

The son of Rod Delmonico, the University of Tennessee's head coach for 18 seasons, Nicky is looking forward to blazing his own path in coaching.

"I grew up in the dugout, so it was something I always loved to do," said Delmonico, who hit .224/.312/.384 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI in 158 career games with the Sox. "I always looked up to my dad and I kind of loved that aspect more than playing. I knew it was going to be in the future for me. I just didn't know when. Last year was the first time I was really itching to become a coach. I just wasn't in the mindset to play anymore.

"It was kind of just that feeling I want to get on the other side of the game. I'm lucky it was this quick and I didn't have to wait two or three years."