DALLAS -- Will Venable has been to previous Winter Meetings, but of course never in the managerial position he currently holds with the White Sox.

The same holds true for Walker McKinven, the new Chicago bench coach, who even attended a couple of these December get-togethers in job-search mode. But they now are at the Hilton Anatole as part of the White Sox brain trust for two main reasons: Building this franchise back from the ground level after losing 222 games over the past two seasons, and a belief in the overall plan fostered by general manager Chris Getz.

¡°I like collaboration,¡± Getz said during his Tuesday media session. ¡°We have a lot of talent in the room and organization and I¡¯m going to utilize that. It¡¯s not a one-man show by any stretch.

¡°At the end of the day, I¡¯m the decision-maker, and [I'm] pretty sure they know that, but they¡¯re part of this process and part of building this. I brought them in because they¡¯re valuable in a lot of ways, so when it comes to decision-making, I¡¯m going to take their input. But ultimately I¡¯m the decision-maker.¡±

Venable, 42, came to the White Sox after two years as an associate manager to Texas manager Bruce Bochy. He spoke Tuesday with Bochy, whose scheduled media session finished right before Venable¡¯s began.

This new job won¡¯t be an easy one for Venable, with the White Sox at the start of a rebuild and coming off the highest single-season loss total in the Modern Era (since 1901) at 121. But Venable is in this organization for the long haul and will have a chance to imprint his style during the gradual build.

¡°He's got a good feel for the game. He's got a good feel for people,¡± Bochy said. ¡°I think being a really good communicator, being honest and upfront is going to be so good, and it's going to go so well with him and the team that he has. There's going to be a trust factor with Will. He is going to shoot you straight, and that's what they're going to love.¡±

¡°To get someone as talented as Will Venable as our manager, we feel very fortunate,¡± Getz said. ¡°I feel like he's a teammate of mine. We're in this together, and I'm going to support him the best that I can. He's a guy I think has a very bright future as a Major League manager, and he's going to get the best out of a lot of our players."

That White Sox roster makeup on Dec. 10 figures to look quite a bit different by the start of Spring Training, if not much sooner. All-Star starter Garrett Crochet continues to draw significant interest from contending teams who might prefer his immense mound talent and his two years of contractual control over other higher-priced free agent hurlers.

While that scenario is being figured out, Venable is getting to know who¡¯s currently in place for the White Sox. He recently went on a trip through Florida with some of Chicago's strength and conditioning people, visiting with right-handed relievers Ron Marinaccio and Jordan Leasure, left-hander Jake Eder, outfielders Austin Slater and Oscar Colas and third baseman Bryan Ramos.

¡°Really just casual,¡± Venable said of the visits. ¡°We have a chance to watch them work out. Some of the hitters, we got to see them work out in the cage. I was able to have lunch with a couple of them and really just touch base and connect. Again, just really informal. I just wanted to start that relationship.¡±

It¡¯s a relationship figuring to grow stronger over time, much like Venable¡¯s relationship with his coaching staff and the front office developing together. It¡¯s also not a team predicted for a winning record this season and maybe even a year or two beyond, so how does Venable define success?

¡°Obviously, wins and losses matter, and we'll all be judged on that. I think also it's about our players and did we support them to get better? Did they get better and continue to develop?¡± Venable said. ¡°Did we do the things internally with our infrastructure and our systems and processes to set us up for success in the future, too?

¡°There's a lot of work being done behind the scenes. So I think all those are fair measures.¡±