White Sox Manager Rumors: Tony La Russa Given Permission by Angels to Interview

The possibility that Tony La Russa becomes the next manager of the Chicago White Sox reportedly grew stronger Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Angels, who hired La Russa as a senior adviser of baseball operations after the 2019 season, have given the White Sox permission to interview the 76-year-old for their managerial opening, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

La Russa has not managed since the 2011 season.

Nightengale reported Monday that La Russa was "quite intrigued" by the White Sox opening after they announced they were parting ways with manager Rick Renteria.

La Russa started his managerial career with the White Sox in 1979. White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf fired him during the 1986 season, a move he has said he regrets.

After that firing, La Russa joined the Oakland Athletics for 10 years and then managed the St. Louis Cardinals for 16 seasons.

He won the World Series with the A's in 1989 and did so again with the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011. He also took home four Manager of the Year awards. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 and has a 2,728-2,365 record as a manager.

La Russa has remained close to the game in recent years as an executive with Major League Baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Boston Red Sox and the Angels.

Chicago has plenty of young talent and made the playoffs this year for the first time since 2008, but it hasn't won a postseason series since winning the World Series in 2005. La Russa has molded talented players into championship rosters before and may have the opportunity to do so where he started his managerial career.