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Rangers Fire Offensive Coordinator Donnie Ecker

By Mark Polishuk | May 4, 2025 at 5:35pm CDT

The Rangers announced that offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker has been fired after three-plus seasons in his role.  No replacement was named, as the press release announcing the move stated that “the structure of the club’s hitting staff is expected to be addressed in the coming days.”

“After lengthy discussions and deliberations, we feel now is the appropriate time to provide our hitters with a new voice as we pursue goals of winning the division and reaching the postseason,” Texas president of baseball operations Chris Young said in the press release.  “We are extremely grateful to Donnie for all that he has accomplished here with the Rangers, including his role in the club’s 2023 World Series championship.  We wish him the best.”

The news comes in the aftermath of the Rangers’ 8-1 win over the Mariners today, which marked just the third time this season that Texas had scored eight or more runs in a game.  The Rangers entered today’s action ranked near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, and carried a team-wide .224/.280/.357 slash line and 82 wRC+ prior to today’s breakout against Seattle.

Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia are two of the most prominent under-performing regulars, while offseason signing Joc Pederson has a hard-to-fathom 2 wRC+ through his first 91 plate appearances in a Rangers uniform.  Infielder Jake Burger was another offseason pickup who has struggled badly, and Texas already optioned him to Triple-A earlier this week.  Leody Taveras has usually been a glove-first player anyway, but the Rangers chose to put the outfielder on outright waivers today.

These are a few of the major weak links that undermined a few hot starts within the lineup (i.e. Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, Josh Smith, Jonah Heim), and more pressingly, a fantastic early showing from the Texas rotation.  Even with so little from the offense, the Rangers have still managed an even 18-18 record thanks in large part to the outstanding starting pitching.

As always, it is unfair to point the finger at one particular coach (or coordinator, in this case) for a team’s performance.  As Young noted in his own statement, criticism of Ecker’s work should also acknowledge the fact that the Rangers were an offensive powerhouse less than two years ago when Texas won the first World Series title in franchise history.  That said, the 2024 Rangers followed up that championship season with a 78-84 record.  Inconsistent pitching was the biggest issue last year, yet the offense also slumped to a 95 wRC+, ranking 22nd of 30 teams.

Ecker is only 39 years old, yet he already has a lengthy resume with multiple teams.  He was a minor league hitting coach with various Cardinals and Angels affiliates from 2015-18, and he then moved to the big leagues as the Reds’ assistant hitting coach for the 2019 season.  Ecker was one of two hitting coaches employed by the Giants in 2020-21 before he came to Texas as both a bench coach and the “offensive coordinator” role that focused on shaping the team’s overall offensive philosophy.

The bench coach duties changed this past offseason, as Ecker became just the offensive coordinator when Luis Urueta was hired as the Rangers’ new bench coach.  Will Venable had previously been the Rangers’ associate manager before he was hired to manage the White Sox, so Urueta has apparently taken over the chief lieutenant role behind manager Bruce Bochy.  Texas also made a change at hitting coach, as Justin Viele was hired while assistant hitting coach Seth Conner was retained.

As noted by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, this marks the first time in Bochy’s long managerial career that one of his coaches has ever been replaced during a season.  In general, in-season coaching changes have become relatively rarer throughout baseball, since one particular coach is just one of several voices contributing to what has become an increasingly organization-wide approach to game-planning and preparation.

In the most basic sense that a coaching change can shake a team up, results have been mixed over the years.  For every instance where a team is sparked by a change (i.e. the Mariners heating up after Dan Wilson was hired as manager and Edgar Martinez was hired as hitting coach last August), you can cite another where a staffing change didn’t get a club back on track.

Since it is also just May 4, it can be argued that we’re also still in “slow start” territory, with still a relatively small sample size of evidence that something is drastically wrong with the Texas offense.  Of course, Ecker’s dismissal obviously means the Rangers didn’t feel the same way, given the abrupt and somewhat surprising nature of the firing.  It will be intriguing to see how the team responds to the change, and whether or not the Rangers fill Ecker’s role from within the organization or with a new hire.

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Texas Rangers Donnie Ecker

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Colin Poche Elects Free Agency
View Comments (57)
Post a Comment

57 Comments

  1. tigers182

    3 months ago

    Eric Bienemy available

    19
    Reply
    • SteveFinleyEnthusiast

      3 months ago

      Always available

      4
      Reply
    • Monkey’s Uncle

      3 months ago

      He didn’t do well in the interview.

      5
      Reply
      • Gwynning

        3 months ago

        MLB has the Rooney Rule now?

        3
        Reply
        • Unclemike1526

          3 months ago

          Eric Bienemy isn’t available. He has a job. I think Luke Getsy and Shane Waldron are available though not wanted anywhere.

          Reply
        • Fred K. Burke

          3 months ago

          Yikes

          1
          Reply
      • kcmark

        3 months ago

        Shedeur?

        1
        Reply
    • jdgoat

      3 months ago

      You beat me

      1
      Reply
    • DarrenDreifortsContract

      3 months ago

      The guy who was fired at UCLA after one season?

      Reply
      • Steinbrenner2728

        3 months ago

        I thought he was just “let go”…

        Reply
    • rememberthecoop

      3 months ago

      Nope, Dan Johnson hired him for his coaching staff with Da Bears. Can’t jave him.

      Reply
      • tigers182

        3 months ago

        Dan Campbell or Ben Johnson?

        Reply
  2. BaseballBrian

    3 months ago

    There are way too many coaching positions in MLB. Offensive coordinator.?!

    18
    Reply
    • Kyle 12

      3 months ago

      Passan listed him as hitting coach. Idk the difference

      1
      Reply
    • Cosmo21

      3 months ago

      Yes..what the hell is an OC in baseball

      6
      Reply
      • foppert3

        3 months ago

        I think he was a “hitting coach” at the Giants. Created an upgraded job title for him when they poached him ?

        2
        Reply
        • Unclemike1526

          3 months ago

          OC in baseball is the guy you fire when you aren’t scoring runs. Why? That’s another question altogether. LMAO

          Reply
    • Degaz

      3 months ago

      Just demote him to Bunting Coach

      2
      Reply
  3. Pete zahut

    3 months ago

    NFL topics on here now lol

    4
    Reply
  4. JScottG

    3 months ago

    Didn’t run the ball enough leaving them in too many 3rd and long situations.

    16
    Reply
    • Easy as 1 2 3

      3 months ago

      Failed to develop that promising young QB.

      1
      Reply
  5. Clofreesz

    3 months ago

    Urgh. Finally.

    Having one of the best pitching staffs in the league with the worst offense was painful to watch over the past couple days.

    1
    Reply
  6. Braves_saints_celts

    3 months ago

    The braves firing their hitting coach just to hire a new guy f’d the team up bad

    Reply
    • User 3594734386

      3 months ago

      Ditto Orioles

      1
      Reply
    • bwood

      3 months ago

      —Braves_saints_celts—Yup and the Mariners cant STOP hitting the ball, Thanks Atlanta!
      Any other guys that dont seem to be doing the job on the hitting side, send em over.
      We will clear out the coolers cause I know its coming.

      Reply
  7. Armaments216

    3 months ago

    Deion Sanders named as his replacement

    2
    Reply
    • mab51357

      3 months ago

      Can’t be Deion. He’s going to become Browns HC next year and force Shedeur to starting QB.

      Reply
  8. Bart Harley Jarvis

    3 months ago

    “No replacement was named”… because the position is totally unnecessary.

    2
    Reply
  9. Ignorant Son-of-a-b

    3 months ago

    Leave it to the Mariners to wake up a sleeping giant. Nice way to get out of Texas on a high note, got b-slapped instead. What a fizzling stuporific offensive showing. Would have been a nice cherry on top of a series win; but oh no…not allowed too many nice things.

    1
    Reply
    • myaccount2

      3 months ago

      We have 8 straight series wins. It’s baseball; you can’t win ’em all. Evans vs. deGrom was the one we all expected to lose anyway.

      3
      Reply
    • mab51357

      3 months ago

      Ignorant: Little harsh. When Seattle lost their series to the Giants earlier this year they’re record was below .500. Now they are atop the division 7 or 8 games above .500. Someone getting greedy I think.

      2
      Reply
      • myaccount2

        3 months ago

        Correct. We were 3-7 at one point and are now 20-13, so currently amidst a 17-6 stretch.

        Reply
        • Ignorant Son-of-a-b

          3 months ago

          Sorry guys I get grumpy when we lose. I do however understand the wider perspective and can appreciate where we are at. I shouldn’t post fresh of a loss, need to let it simmer for awhile haha.

          3
          Reply
        • myaccount2

          3 months ago

          I get that!

          1
          Reply
  10. jdgoat

    3 months ago

    Let Eric Bieniemy take over.

    Reply
  11. Rsox

    3 months ago

    When did MLB become the NFL? Some teams have almost as many coaches as players…

    1
    Reply
  12. Easy as 1 2 3

    3 months ago

    Obviously the right call. Him having Russel throw the ball instead of giving it to Marshawn was a horrible decision. In the superbowl no less.

    1
    Reply
  13. AlistairC

    3 months ago

    Bringing in an offensive coordinator was as big a whiff as most of this year’s at-bats.

    2
    Reply
  14. Davehuckleberry55

    3 months ago

    WRONG Edgar Martinez!!! This website is sooo inaccurate. Do better than this.

    Reply
    • Hawktattoo

      3 months ago

      He sure has got younger and pitching now..wow

      1
      Reply
    • Rick Wilkins

      3 months ago

      Truly though, did this really affect your day? When you clicked the link a saw the wrong guy, did you forget all the mistakes you might have made at your job? I mean, you’re in the comment section of a free baseball website, talking about editorial errors. It’s a pretty low maintenance staff I would guess. Kind of a do your own editing type situation. Short of box score info, this is the premier website to keep up to date with all the comings and goings in baseball. YOU can do better than this.

      6
      Reply
  15. cbraves

    3 months ago

    Offensive Coordinator????

    1
    Reply
    • kcmark

      3 months ago

      MLB poached the Gatorade splash from the NFL why not the OC?

      Reply
  16. Rick Wilkins

    3 months ago

    The writing was on the wall. Corey Seager’s inability to throw a good screen pass, Marcus Semien not picking up enough blocks, and Wyatt Langford leading the leader in dropped passes, is recipe for change.

    6
    Reply
    • YankeesBleacherCreature

      3 months ago

      Bring in Bill Belichick. He could use a fresh start with his winning pedigree.

      4
      Reply
      • phapha2

        3 months ago

        “We’re not talking about this.”

        4
        Reply
        • Rsox

          3 months ago

          Bill’s a little busy these days, what with having to take his girlfriend to daycare and all…

          Reply
  17. 3 finger split

    3 months ago

    What does an OC do in baseball ?
    See ball, Hit Ball

    1
    Reply
    • Rsox

      3 months ago

      Baseball, from a fundamental standpoint is so out of whack these days that a team having, let alone firing its “offensive coordinator” is a perfect microcosm for the problems in todays game

      1
      Reply
  18. mattwild1

    3 months ago

    damn. this was the guy given a lot of credit for both the 2021 giants and the rangers WS win. i know i sure missed him after he left SF.

    Reply
  19. rememberthecoop

    3 months ago

    Scapegoat.

    Reply
  20. bigmike0424

    3 months ago

    Memo to MLB teams stop with offensive coordinator job titles just don’t make sense, why have hitting coaches if just want offensive coordinator as it the same thing

    1
    Reply
    • Rsox

      3 months ago

      Same thing with “Associate Manager” (Will Venable’s former title with the Rangers)

      1
      Reply
  21. Throw Like a Girl

    3 months ago

    When they hired this guy as offensive coordinator and he promised to implement the west coast offense, Rangers fans were probably like, “Oh, ok.. so like the Dodgers and Padres, that will work!” Dude was like, “No more like the A’s and Angels.. quit throwing things at me! They are on the west coast too!”

    1
    Reply
  22. Throw Like a Girl

    3 months ago

    As long as their special teams coordinator’s job is safe…

    Reply
  23. dasit

    3 months ago

    how about an article explaining all of the new coaching/front office positions (i.e. director of run prevention) and how they function?

    2
    Reply
  24. whyhayzee

    3 months ago

    The offensive coordinator determines where everyone sits in the dugout?

    1
    Reply

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