Renteria’s success might depend on team’s plan

CHICAGO — Rick Renteria follows the distant footsteps left by Johnny Evers.

That he will become only the second man to manage on both sides of Chicago will either grow into a major storyline over the years or be reduced to a footnote, and like all managers, Renteria can only do his part. His success or failure will largely depend on if he’s given a deeper roster than Robin Ventura had in his five seasons on the job.

Renteria was praised for his work with Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro when he managed the Cubs in 2014. He joined Ventura’s coaching staff last season and was an easy choice for the White Sox when Ventura walked away after his fourth consecutive losing season.

But an easy choice for what, exactly?

That’s the question, and Rick Hahn is doing his best not to give away the answer.

“Ricky’s the right guy regardless of which way we go,” said Hahn, the White Sox’s senior vice president/general manager, sounding as cryptic as possible.

He’s been tap-dancing about the White Sox’s direction since opening the door to a tear-down/rebuild effort in a group interview before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline, when he lamented the Sox being “mired in mediocrity.”

When the upcoming postseason has run its course, it will be time for the Sox to get down to business. That means talking to 29 teams about possible trades for the twin aces, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.

What if Renteria turns out to be only one of several guys in uniform crossing Chicago’s baseball lines?

How loud would the reaction be around the city if the Sox finally used Sale or Quintana to tap into the wealth of talent accumulated by Theo Epstein and the Cubs?

Along with the Red Sox and Rangers, the Cubs are positioned better than anyone else to pull off a Sale/Quintana trade this winter, when there will be a shortage of pitching on the free-agent market. So don’t dismiss the possibility of a huge White Sox-Cub trade simply because of the politics involved.

Nor should you think that the White Sox would only trade one of their two stud left-handers if they’re writing off their chances of winning now.

Hahn was noncommittal about …

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