The White Sox are reportedly bringing in an Orioles assistant hitting coach to serve as a minor league hitting coordinator.
Orioles beat writer Andy Kostka reported Tuesday that the White Sox have tapped Sherman Johnson to join their player development staff.
The move comes amid a broader reshuffling of the Orioles’ coaching staff after the team hired Craig Albernaz as its new manager. Johnson now joins former Orioles hitting coach Ryan Fuller, who was hired as the White Sox director of hitting last year. Fuller brought with him a new offensive philosophy that focused on controlling the strike zone with an emphasis on smarter swinging decisions.
That was on full display after he spent over a week in Arizona with struggling White Sox prospect Colson Montgomery in May. Following his stint with Fuller, Montgomery proceeded to hit 21 homers with the White Sox, setting an MLB record for a shortstop through his first 71 career games. It appears the White Sox are looking to expand that offensive philosophy throughout their minor league system, a model the Orioles continued to follow even after Fuller’s departure.
Johnson was promoted to the Orioles’ major league staff in November 2024, marking his first season on a big-league bench. However, in his lone year in Baltimore, the offense sputtered, ranking 24th in MLB with a .235 batting average, 21st in on-base percentage at .699, and posting a 24.2% strikeout rate, the third highest in baseball.
The offensive downturn was among the factors that led to manager Brandon Hyde’s dismissal during the 2025 season.
Johnson originally joined the Orioles organization in 2023 as the hitting coach for Double-A Bowie, before being promoted to minor league hitting coordinator in 2024 and later elevated to the major league staff. He’ll now return to player development as part of the White Sox’s minor league system.
The 35-year-old is a former player who spent a brief time in the MLB, appearing in 10 games with the Angels in 2018. He continued playing in the minors and independent leagues through 2022 before transitioning into a coaching role.
