At the end of the year presser for the Texas Rangers, Chris Young mentioned that the team and former manager Bruce Bochy had agreed to part ways. The prevailing belief around the league and among fans was that Skip Schumaker was going to be the one hired. Young didn’t do much to dispel the rumors, as he mentioned that there was an internal candidate who had the lead, and the team wasn’t looking to hire externally.
Notes on Texas Rangers End-of-Season Press Conference
Skip Schumaker Was Their Man
It didn’t take long for him to be hired as the team’s manager. Schumacher is a great choice for the Rangers, as he was named Manager of the Year in 2023 with the Miami Marlins, leading them to the playoffs. The following year wasn’t too great as they went 62-100 before he left the team. He is considered one of the best young coaches around, and the Rangers could use a new voice in the locker room. They hope that he can get a lot out of the younger players and help them develop.
Potential Closer
The Rangers will need to look for a closer for the upcoming year. They need a variety of players who made saves this year, with no one really grabbing the reins. Shawn Armstrong led the team with nine saves last year, but he is set to become a free agent in the offseason.
The options remaining on the team are Robert Garcia, Cole Winn, and Jacob Latz. Young also mentioned that Latz has the potential to be in the starting rotation, as he made starts for the team during bullpen games and was quite impressive when he did. The returning starters include Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jack Leiter. So they could use him in the rotation.
Robert Garcia struggled in the ninth inning when he had chances to be the closer, as he blew seven saves this year. He seemed much more confident in the 7th and 8th innings as the setup guy for the closer. Cole Winn was great for the Rangers in his first full season in the bullpen; he logged a 1.51 ERA. However, he did not log a save, and that pressure may be too much for him if the Rangers call on him to shoulder this responsibility.
The Rangers will certainly be under the CBT next year, but they plan to contend still.
Young didn’t say too much about the payroll but said that they would go under the competitive balance threshold. The free agents that they have include Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin, Merrill Kelly, Phil Maton, Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Danny Columbe, and Shawn Armstrong. Adolis Garcia and some other players have their arbitration coming up, too, so they are names to watch, too.
The Rangers will likely bring some of these players back, as they should aim to retain arms in their bullpen. They could also bring back Corbin and Mahle, as those two had good seasons for the clubs and could be good options to eat innings and round out the rotation.
Lots of offense talk, mainly about a change in philosophy
Chris Young discussed how the offense handled injuries and how that impacted their struggles to get going at times. He also said that they underperform despite the injuries and that they need to be better.
The Rangers struggled with two strikes, and they would more often swing for the fences instead of playing situational baseball. It seems like the Rangers will do that more and place a greater emphasis on trying to achieve this.
Main Photo Credits: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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