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Bruce Bochy

Skip Schumaker The Favorite To Be Rangers’ Next Manager

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The Rangers announced earlier in the week that Bruce Bochy would not return as manager in 2026 after his three-year contract drew to a close at the end of the current season. That’s created ample speculation about who’ll step into his shoes. President of baseball operations Chris Young perhaps tipped his hand at today’s end-of-season press conference when he revealed that the club hasn’t yet spoken to external candidates (link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). Grant adds that former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, whom the Rangers hired as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department last offseason, is the current “focus” in the Rangers’ search for a new manager.

Schumaker, 45, had an 11-year playing career from 2005-15. Following his retirement as a player, he quickly jumped into the coaching ranks, hooking on a first base coach with the Padres. He eventually moved up to the position of associate manager in San Diego before being hired as the bench coach in St. Louis, where he’d spent the bulk of his playing career. After one season as Oli Marmol’s bench coach with the Cardinals, Schumaker was hired away as the new manager of the Marlins heading into 2023.

Schumaker’s Marlins surprisingly went 84-78 in ’23, narrowly sneaking into the playoffs as a Wild Card club. They were dispatched in short order by the division-rival Phillies, who swept the Wild Card series 2-0, but it looked like a nice step forward for the Fish all the same. Schumaker took home National League Manager of the Year honors for that performance.

The Marlins took a step back in 2024, however, as a newly installed front office opted not to add to the big league roster. Quite to the contrary, Miami wound up trading Luis Arraez to the Padres — in a package including 2025 breakout outfielder Jakob Marsee — in early May. By the time the trade deadline rolled around, the Marlins had shipped out a dozen players in a full dismantling of the team. Prior to the season, Schumaker and the Marlins had agreed to void his 2025 club option — a move reportedly borne out of some frustration from Schumaker over the ouster of general manager Kim Ng, who’d hired him a year prior. By season’s end, Schumaker’s looming departure was one of the worst-kept secrets in baseball. Miami hired Dodgers coach Clayton McCullough to take over the dugout, while Schumaker latched onto a new role in Texas.

Schumaker has now spent the past year familiarizing himself with the organization and building a rapport with Young, general manager Ross Fenstermaker and the remainder of the team’s operation. That experience would seemingly give him a leg up over external candidates if the Rangers went that route, but the fact that they’ve opted not to do so sends strong signals that Schumaker was already considered Bochy’s heir apparent.

If the Rangers ultimately choose to hand the dugout reins over to Schumaker, the 2026 season will be his third as a big league manager. He went 146-178 during his two seasons with Miami, although the Miami front office didn’t really set him up for much success in terms of wins and losses in that 2024 season.

Giants Notes: Coaches, Eldridge, Smith, Bochy

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3:20PM: The Giants won’t be interviewing any members of the current coaching staff for the managerial opening, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reports.  The club isn’t renewing any of the coaches’ contracts for 2026, which is standard practice in the event of a managerial change.  While the next skipper will naturally have input in the make-up of next year’s staff, Slusser views pitching coach J.P. Martinez, bullpen coach Garvin Alston, and first base coach Mark Hallberg as the likeliest candidates to return.

2:03PM: The Giants announced Wednesday that top prospect Bryce Eldridge will undergo surgery tomorrow to remove a bone spur from his left wrist. The procedure comes with an eight-week recovery timetable, which should afford Eldridge ample time to be ready for spring training.

San Francisco’s first-round pick in 2023, Eldridge made his big league debut late in the season at just 20 years of age. Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey had suggested earlier in September that Eldridge wasn’t likely to get the call in 2025, but with the Giants pushing back into playoff contention late in the year, they brought their most promising hitter to the majors in hopes of a late spark.

Perhaps predictably, given his youth and lack of upper-minors experience, Eldridge struggled and often looked overmatched. He appeared in 10 games, took 37 plate appearances and turned in just a .107/.297/.179 batting line with 13 strikeouts (35.1%). None of that diminishes Eldridge’s long-term outlook. He skyrocketed through the minors and logged a .260/.333/.510 batting line with 25 homers in just 433 plate appearances across three levels this year.

Eldridge is still regarded as one of the sport’s 20 best prospects at both Baseball America and MLB.com. News of surgery on the promising young slugger’s wrist might create some concern about his short-term production early in 2026, but the long-term expectation remains that Eldridge and June trade acquisition Rafael Devers will share first base and designated hitter in the long term.

In 2025, first base duties fell primarily to the trio of LaMonte Wade Jr. (designated for assignment in June), Devers and veteran Dominic Smith, who signed a big league deal at the same time Wade was jettisoned from the roster. Smith handled himself well in San Francisco, batting .284/.333/.417 with five homers and a dozen doubles in 225 trips to the plate. The presence of both Eldridge and Devers on the roster doesn’t seem to dovetail with a reunion between the Giants and Smith, who’s a free agent this winter, but general manager Zack Minasian suggested otherwise today.

Speaking with reporters in an end-of-season press conference, Minasian said the Giants “won’t close the door” on bringing the 30-year-old back for the 2026 season (link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). Smith does have a bit of outfield experience dating back to his days with the Mets, but the results weren’t pretty. He’s logged 1330 innings in left field in his career but graded out poorly via both Defensive Runs Saved (-11) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average (-19). If the Giants are comfortable with him being a bench bat and a safety net at first base/DH in the event that Eldridge doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, there could still be a fit. However, Smith’s solid showing at the plate figures to earn him some other opportunities around the league.

Of course, the more pressing question of a potential reunion on the minds of most Giants fans concerns longtime skipper Bruce Bochy, who’s spent the past three seasons managing the Rangers. Bochy and the Rangers announced a mutual parting of ways at season’s end, and San Francisco has a managerial vacancy after dismissing Bob Melvin. Bochy was president of baseball operations Buster Posey’s manager early in his career with the Giants. The pair won three World Series together during the Giants’ even-year dynasty when they won the Fall Classic in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Asked about the possibility of Bochy returning to manage the Giants today, however, Posey suggested it’s not likely (video link via NBC Sports Bay Area):

“I talked to Boch a couple of days ago and told him that where we are currently — and I don’t even know what Boch’s plans are, if he wants to continue to manage or not — that the door is always open here for some sort of role. But the way I think things are coming into picture in my mind, with where we want to go next, I don’t see us going that route with Boch.”

Posey did acknowledge that he’s had some (presumably preliminary) conversations with managerial candidates, but there’s no indication that formal interviews have commenced, nor is there a clear timetable for when the Giants might resolve their search.

Bruce Bochy Will Not Return As Rangers Manager Amid Financial Uncertainty

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The Rangers announced this evening that the club and Bruce Bochy have mutually agreed that Bochy will not continue in his role as manager of the club next year. The announcement adds that Bochy has been offered a front office role to remain with the organization in an advisory capacity. As relayed by Jeff Wilson of DLLS_Sports, president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters on a call this evening that they plan to focus on youth amid financial uncertainty and the sides decided to part ways due to the lack of a clear picture for the 2026 season.

Bochy, 70, has 28 seasons of managerial experience under his belt at this point after getting his start with the Padres back in 1995. He won the NL Manager of the Year award in 1996 and led San Diego to a 98-win season and an NL pennant during the 1998 season, but the club generally struggled throughout the remainder of his tenure until he departed the organization during the 2006-07 offseason to join the division-rival Giants in San Francisco. Bochy rose to his current status as one of the most respected managers in the game during his tenure in the Bay Area, famously leading San Francisco to three World Series titles in five years from 2010 to 2014.

The Giants tried to recreate that even year magic by returning to the postseason in 2016, but fell to the eventual World Series champion Cubs in four games. Bochy’s final three years as the club’s skipper saw them fail to make the postseason with 98-, 89-, and 85-loss campaigns. Bochy stepped away from managing following the 2019 season, making way for Gabe Kapler to take over as manager in San Francisco. With three World Series rings and more than 2,000 wins as a manager in the majors, it seemed as though Bochy’s career in the dugout was coming to a close.

That changed during the 2022-23 offseason, when the Rangers coaxed Bochy out of retirement to take over the helm of their franchise. Texas had signed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to hefty contracts the prior offseason, but a 94-loss season did not see the club reap the rewards of those superstar signings. Ownership clearly felt new leadership was needed, as Young was installed as president of baseball operations while Chris Woodward was fired during his fourth season as manager. That new leadership turned out to be Bochy, and his first year with the club saw him lead them to greatness. The 90-win 2023 Rangers followed in the footsteps of the 2014 Giants as they failed to secure a division title but went on to achieve something far greater when they were crowned World Series champions.

Unfortunately, that championship was not the start of a period of sustained success. The Rangers has hovered around .500 in each of the past two years, with a 159-165 record in that time. They finished with an 81-81 record this year, six games out of a playoff spot despite the club’s decision to push forward and buy at the trade deadline despite the fact that the decision would push them over the luxury tax, which was known to be something the Rangers were hoping to avoid dating back to October of last year.

Given that the team has failed to make the postseason in each of the past two years and very clearly went over budget this year, it’s not exactly shocking that the Rangers would be looking to take a step back of sorts. Texas has around $131MM in guaranteed contracts on the books for next season according to RosterResource, and that number will jump to around $150MM once Joc Pederson picks up his $18.5MM player option for the 2026 season after a campaign marred by injuries and ineffectiveness.

The vast majority of that money is tied up in just four players: Seager, Semien, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi. While those expenditures weren’t too onerous for a team that was spending in the $240MM range annually, as the Rangers have since the start of the 2023 season, a pullback in terms of payroll would leave less room to maneuver around those hefty contracts. It’s unclear just how much payroll is expected to go down at this point, but the club’s previous high-water mark prior to the past three seasons (according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts) was in the $175MM range. With $150MM on the books already for 2026 before considering arbitration raises for players like Jonah Heim and Josh Smith, it’s at least possible that Young and the front office will be facing a significant budget crunch this winter.

Scaling back payroll doesn’t necessarily have to mean a full rebuild, and Young explicitly emphasized that the club is not intending to embark on a rebuild. That makes sense, given that exciting young talents like Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, Jack Leiter, and Kumar Rocker are already in the majors with MLB Pipeline’s #4 prospect Sebastian Walcott potentially on the radar to make his big league debut as soon as next season. Good health from stars like deGrom and Seager in conjunction with steps forward from those young players could easily be enough to lift this Rangers team to the postseason next year even with only minimal additions, though it goes without saying that a lot would have to go right for an 81-81 team to substantially scale back payroll while simultaneously improving enough to make it back to October the following year.

From that perspective, the mutual parting of ways between Bochy and the Rangers makes plenty of sense. Bochy’s already stepped away from managing once and may only want to manage a club with genuine expectations at this stage of his career, if he isn’t considering retiring altogether. The Rangers, meanwhile, could perhaps benefit from a younger, more long-term voice in the dugout as their young players reach and develop in the majors. Young told reporters (including Wilson) that he expects the next manager of the Rangers to have roots in player development before adding that Skip Schumaker is a candidate for the job.

That Schumaker would be in the conversation to take over for Bochy is hardly a surprise. Will Venable had served under Bochy as associate manager during his first two years with the Rangers and seemed likely to be the veteran skipper’s successor at some point, though any such plans were dashed when Venable took over as manager of the White Sox last winter. Once Venable exited the organization, the Rangers brought Schumaker in as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department. While Schumaker’s role was not that of a member of the coaching staff like Venable, his well-regarded tenure as manager of the Marlins makes him a somewhat obvious choice to take over for Bochy as far as internal candidates go.

Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts

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Several teams don’t publicize contract details for their top front office executives or even for their managers, so this list of skipper and execs (any head of a baseball operations department, whether titled as a president of baseball ops, general manager, chief baseball officer, etc.) entering the final year of their deals may not be entirely complete or accurate.  Still, since MLBTR so often focuses on players entering their “contract year,” this post provides a rough outline of which notable team personnel may be feeling some extra pressure as their own deals may be close to expiring.

It is quite possible some of these names may have already quietly signed extensions weeks or months ago, or will sign new deals during Spring Training once clubs turn their attention away from offseason roster-building.  A shorter-term extension may not necessarily indicate much extra job security, as some teams tack an extra year (or at least a club option) onto an executive or managerial contract just to avoid the appearance of that person entering a lame-duck year.  Of course, even a longer contract is no guarantee of job security, as a rough season can instantly put a manager or a front office on the hot seat.

As always, thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reference information on some of these contract terms.

Angels: Ron Washington is already heading into the final season under contract, as he signed only a two-year deal to manage the Halos in November 2023.  While the Angels were only 63-99 last season, it could hardly be considered Washington’s fault given the subpar state of the roster.  Expectations will be higher in 2025 since the team has been aggressing in adding talent this winter, and since GM Perry Minasian got a contract extension last August, Los Angeles might also look to add a year onto Washington’s deal to at least keep him on line with the guaranteed portion of Minasian’s new contract.  It should be noted that Washington turns 73 this coming April, so he might also prefer to just take things year-to-year if he has any thoughts about retirement.

Astros: Dana Brown is entering his third season as Houston’s GM, and the terms of his contract weren’t made public when he was hired in January 2023.  It is possible Brown might only be working on a three-year deal since his predecessor James Click also received just a three-year commitment, though Click was hired in the singular aftermath of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.  This probably isn’t a situation to monitor too closely since the Astros have kept winning during Brown’s tenure, with the caveat that owner Jim Crane and his advisors are known to weigh heavily on baseball operations decisions.  Click was let go within days of winning a World Series due to reported acrimony with Crane, but there hasn’t been any indication of any heat between Crane and Brown.

Athletics: Mark Kotsay’s initial contract covered the 2022-24 seasons, and the A’s picked up Kotsay’s 2025 club option over a year ago.  GM David Forst said in October that “there’s no one I would rather have managing this team,” and that Kotsay “wants to be here,” though there hasn’t been any public word about any extension talks.  As comfortable as Kotsay seems with the organization, it is possible he might be willing to let the season play out and then explore his options, if he has any uncertainty over continuing to manage the A’s through their stint in West Sacramento before their planned move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season.  While no public details were revealed about Forst’s latest contract, the GM has obviously signed some kind of extension since his last deal expired after the 2023 season, and said in November that “I’ve been here for 25 years.  There’s not a thought that I wouldn’t be in this for the long run.”

Blue Jays: Manager John Schneider is entering the last guaranteed season of his three-year contract, as the Blue Jays hold a club option on Schneider for 2026.  It is fair to guess that the Jays might not exercise that option too far in advance, as there is widespread speculation that another disappointing season (or even a slow start) will cost Schneider his job.  The same could be true of general manager Ross Atkins, even though Atkins is under contract through 2026.  Team president Mark Shapiro is also entering the final season of his five-year contract, and while Shapiro’s focus has been more towards bigger-picture projects like Rogers Centre’s renovations, his possible departure might also trigger a larger overhaul unless the Jays turn things around on the field in 2025.

Braves: Manager Brian Snitker is entering the last year of his contract, so the Braves might well look to tack at least one more season onto Snitker’s deal this spring.  Snitker has led Atlanta to the postseason in each of the last seven seasons, highlighted by the team’s World Series victory in 2021.  He has stuck to just shorter-term deals and extensions during his tenure, which is probably due more to his age (Snitker turned 69 in October) than any dissatisfaction on the organization’s part, so no change seems imminent in the Braves dugout.

Cardinals: John Mozeliak’s exit plan is already in place.  The longtime head of the St. Louis front office is stepping down after the 2025 season, with Chaim Bloom already inked to a long-term contract to become the Cardinals’ next president of baseball operations.

Cubs: The Cubs have posted 83-79 records in each of the last two seasons, but they still haven’t reached the postseason during Jed Hoyer’s four-year tenure as president of baseball operations.  2025 is the last year of Hoyer’s original five-year contract, and acquiring Kyle Tucker (who is a free agent next winter) in a big-ticket trade might indicate that Hoyer is feeling some heat to win as soon as possible.  It can be argued that Hoyer has been somewhat hamstrung by ownership’s reluctance to spend at the top of the market, but that might also indicate that ownership could be considering hiring a PBO with more experience in building contenders on limited budgets.

Dodgers: Reports surfaced earlier today that the Dodgers are planning to work out an extension with Dave Roberts, as the skipper is entering the last season of his last three-year extension with the club.  It comes as no surprise that L.A. wants to retain Roberts in the wake of the team’s second World Series title during his tenure, and it stands to reason that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is also a candidate for a new deal, perhaps regardless of the terms of his last agreement.  Friedman came to the Dodgers on a five-year deal in October 2014, then signed an extension of an unknown length in November 2019.  If that next contract was another five-year pact, Friedman is a technically free agent right now, but there has no zero indication that Friedman (who has been as busy as ever in bolstering the Dodgers roster this winter) is going anywhere.

Guardians: This is a speculative entry since it has been well over a decade since Chris Antonetti’s contract terms were publicly reported.  Even if he is approaching the end of his current deal, there hasn’t been any sense that the Guardians are planning a front office change, especially not in the wake of another AL Central crown and a trip to the ALCS.  Antonetti has been a member of Cleveland’s front office since 1999, and in his current role as president of baseball operations since October 2015.

Mariners: Jerry Dipoto has been extended twice since the M’s first hired him in September 2015, and his last extension in September 2021 was a multi-year deal of unspecified length.  It is therefore possible this could be Dipoto’s final season under contract as Seattle’s president of baseball operations, unless another extension has been signed in the last three-plus years.  Despite four straight seasons of 85 or more wins, the Mariners reached the playoffs just once in that span, as a lack of hitting has hampered the team over the last two years in particular.  It remains to be seen if ownership is okay with just being competitive (or, as Dipoto infamously put it, winning “54 percent of the time“) or if any impatience is growing over the Mariners’ difficulty in truly breaking through as a contender.  The Mariners were sparked to a 21-13 record down the stretch after manager Dan Wilson was hired last August, so it could be that the managerial change (and a change of hitting coaches) is what was needed to get the M’s back on track, but Dipoto and Wilson could both face pressure if Seattle again falls short of postseason baseball.

Orioles: Mike Elias has been Baltimore’s GM for six seasons, though his contract terms haven’t been made public at any point during his tenure.  Manager Brandon Hyde signed a three-year deal when first hired prior to the 2019 season, and he has signed at least one or perhaps two extensions since, leaving his contract status a bit of a mystery.  This is another situation where job security probably isn’t an issue, as the Orioles have come out of their rebuild to reach the playoffs in back-to-back years, even if the club has yet to record even a single postseason win in that span.  New owner David Rubenstein is eager to win but hasn’t shown any inclination to changing the leadership structure since he bought the Orioles earlier this year.

Pirates: Ben Cherington has now completed five full seasons as the Buccos’ general manager, so he either signed a somewhat unusually long contract when first hired, or he has already inked one extension that has escaped public attention.  Pittsburgh fans are impatiently waiting for the first winning season of Cherington’s tenure, as the team has flirted with contention in each of the last two years before finishing with identical 76-86 records.  Paul Skenes has at least emerged as the crown jewel of the Pirates’ lengthy rebuild process, so regardless of Cherington’s contract terms, it doesn’t appear as though he is in any danger of being fired.

Rangers: Bruce Bochy’s return to managing saw him sign a three-year contract with Texas, so 2025 represents the final year of that deal.  Bochy turns 70 in April but didn’t give any hints about retiring when speaking to reporters at the end of the season.  A second straight losing season might change the equation either on Bochy’s end or on the front office’s end, but the Rangers’ 2023 World Series title (to say nothing of Bochy’s three previous rings as the Giants’ manager) has naturally brought him a lot of leeway within the organization.  Both sides might prefer to go year-to-year just to maintain flexibility, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Bochy soon gets another year added to his contract.

Rockies: Bud Black has signed three straight one-year extensions to remain as Colorado’s manager, and past reports have indicated that Black is on something of an unofficial year-to-year rolling contract with the organization.  It is perhaps notable that Black’s most recent deal wasn’t finalized until this past October, whereas his previous two extensions were completed prior to the start of the seasons.  This might indicate that ownership and/or Black himself are starting to think harder about continuing the relationship in the wake of six straight losing seasons, even despite the Rockies’ well-known penchant for staying loyal to long-term employees.  The same logic could extend to GM Bill Schmidt, though Schmidt’s contract terms haven’t been known since he was elevated to the full-time general manager position in October 2021.

Royals: Matt Quatraro is entering the final guaranteed year of his initial three-year contract as manager, though the Royals have a club option on his services for the 2026 season.  J.J. Picollo has also completed two full seasons as the team’s general manager since being elevated to top of Kansas City’s baseball ops ladder in September 2022, though his contract status in the wake of that promotion wasn’t known.  Regardless, it doesn’t seem like either is going anywhere, and extensions could be in order since the Royals enjoyed an 86-win season and a return to the playoffs last year, including a wild card series win over the Orioles.

Tigers: Likewise, Detroit is also coming off a playoff appearance and a wild card series victory, as a magical late-season surge left the Tigers just one game short of the ALCS.  It is therefore safe to assume that president of baseball operations Scott Harris has plenty of job security, and while his contract terms aren’t known, it is probably safe to assume Harris received more than a three-year guarantee when he was hired in September 2022.

Twins: Some larger-scale changes could be afoot in Minnesota since the Pohlad family is exploring selling the Twins, and some shuffling in the front office has already taken place, with president of baseball ops Derek Falvey also becoming the president of business operations and Jeremy Zoll replacing Thad Levine as general manager.  Falvey’s previous deal was up after the 2024 season so obviously he signed an extension, but while manager Rocco Baldelli’s previous extension is known to have run through at least the end of the 2025 campaign, it is unclear if the coming season is the final year of that deal.  If Baldelli is indeed heading into a lame-duck year, the ownership situation might prevent the skipper from getting at least another season added to his deal, just so a new owner could potentially have a clean slate in evaluating things once they take over the team.

White Sox: This is more of a speculative entry, just because Chris Getz’s contract terms weren’t released when he was named Chicago’s general manager in August 2023.  A GM wouldn’t normally be considered to be on the hot seat so soon after being hired, nor are immediate results expected since the White Sox are quite obviously going through a hefty rebuild.  While nobody expected the Sox to contend in 2024, however, there’s a difference between just being a losing team and having a league-record 121 losses.  Another embarrassment of a season might give owner Jerry Reinsdorf second thoughts about Getz’s stewardship of the rebuild effort, or the possibility exists that Reinsdorf could sell the team, which should shake the organization up entirely.

Yankees: Aaron Boone quieted some of his critics when the Yankees both returned to the postseason, and captured the first AL pennant of Boone’s seven-year stint as the Bronx manager.  This result led the Yankees to exercise their club option on Boone’s services for 2025, and while no negotiations had taken place about a longer-term deal as of early November, it stands to reason that some talks will take place before Opening Day.  Then again, Boone’s current deal wasn’t signed until after he’d already completed the final season his previous contract, so it could be that the Yankees will again play wait-and-see.  There isn’t much sense that Boone is in jeopardy, and while expectations are always high in New York, ownership’s loyalty to Boone through some relative lean years would make it unusual if he was let go so soon after a World Series appearance.

Rangers Grant White Sox Permission To Interview Will Venable, Donnie Ecker

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On the heels of reporting earlier today that the White Sox had interest in Rangers bench coach and offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker for their managerial vacancy, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported this evening that the Rangers have granted not only Ecker but also associate manager Will Venable permission to interview with Chicago regarding their available managerial gig. Venable’s name first surfaced in connection with the White Sox last week.

Ecker, 38, got his start as a coach in 2015 with the Cardinals. He acted as a minor league hitting coach for St. Louis from 2015 to 2017 before joining the Angels’ Triple-A club in that same role for the 2018 season. He first cracked the big leagues as an assistant hitting coach with the Reds in 2019. He remained with the club for two years before joining the Giants as a hitting coach prior to the 2020 season, and he stuck in San Francisco for another two years before again changing organizations to join the Rangers in his current role as bench coach and offensive coordinator prior to the 2022 season.

It’s a lengthy resume, and Ecker would bring perspectives from five different big league organizations to an infamously insular White Sox club if hired. This isn’t the first time Ecker has come up as a potential managerial candidate for a big league club, either. Last winter, Ecker was rumored among the potential candidates to replace Gabe Kapler as manager in San Francisco before they ultimately hired Bob Melvin away from the Padres.

Venable has also seen his name come up in past managerial searches and has long been looked at as one of the league’s top up-and-coming potential managers. After playing parts of nine seasons in the majors, Venable joined the Cubs as a special assistant to the front office in 2017 before serving as first base coach in the following two seasons and third base coach during the shortened 2020 campaign. Venable departed Chicago following the 2020 season to become Alex Cora’s bench coach in Boston. He remained in that role for two years before joining the Rangers as an associate manager under Bruce Bochy prior to the 2023 season.

Grant notes that Venable could be the leading contender to take Bochy’s place as manager in Texas when the 69-year-old eventually returns to retirement. Venable was seemingly comfortable with that arrangement when he declined interviews with the Mets and Guardians last winter in order to remain with the Rangers, but it’s possible he’s more seriously considering departing the Rangers this winter amid uncertainty regarding Bochy’s plans for the future. As Grant relays, Bochy told reporters following the end of the 2024 regular season that managing still “drives” him, seemingly leaving the door open to him sticking around beyond the end of his current contract in 2025.

The two Rangers coaches are hardly the only candidates connected to the job, of course. Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough and bench coach Danny Lehman, Tigers bench coach George Lombard, Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis, former Angels skipper Phil Nevin, Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso, and outgoing Marlins manager Skip Schumaker have all been name checked as potential candidates in the rumor mill, with Schumaker and McCullough getting particular attention as potential leading candidates.

Whoever ultimately takes the reins in Chicago will enter an tumultuous situation. Not only is the club coming off a disastrous 2024 campaign that set the modern record for losses in a single season at 121, but the club’s ownership could be up in the air following a report yesterday that indicated longtime owner Jerry Reinsdorf is discussing selling the club to former big leaguer Dave Stewart. While all that uncertainty and the likely long timetable for a return to contention could make the club’s managerial gig seem somewhat unattractive, the relative scarcity of big league manager jobs is sure to draw the attention of quality talent nonetheless.

Managerial Notes: Counsell, Mets, Guardians, Astros, Padres

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The Mets are approaching a decision on who will take the reins from Buck Showalter as the club’s new manager, per SNY’s Andy Martino, with a decision from star manager Craig Counsell expected in the next few days. That, Martino notes, seems to set the Mets up to act quickly regarding their own managerial vacancy; if Counsell settles on the Mets, the Mets will of course hire him for the position, while Martino suggests that Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza is another “very strong” candidate for the role. Martino implies that Counsell and Mendoza are regarded as the two finalists for the role, noting that the “only scenario” that could hold up the manager search in Queens is both Counsell and Mendoza electing to take jobs elsewhere.

That’s not necessarily a completely far-fetched scenario, however. After all, Counsell seems likely to have his pick between the Mets, Guardians, and the incumbent Brewers, all of whom appear to be prioritizing Counsell as their top option to lead their club in the dugout next year. It’s unclear where Counsell will ultimately land, reports have indicated that Counsell will at least offer Milwaukee a chance to match whatever salary offer he receives from New York and Cleveland. If Counsell does wind up returning to Milwuakee, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relayed recently that the favorites for the job with the Guardians would then be Mendoza and Mariners coach Stephen Vogt.

That creates at least the possibility of a situation where the Brewers retain Counsell while the Guardians land Mendoza, leaving the Mets unsure about who their next manager will be. Cubs bench coach and former Padres manager Andy Green as well as current A’s manager Mark Kotsay have both been noted as possible candidates for the manager job in New York in the past, and the Mets are known to be searching for an external candidate, specifically.

More managerial notes from around the game…

  • The Astros could be nearing the end of their search for a manager to replace veteran skipper Dusty Baker, who retired at the end of the 2023 season. Per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, GM Dana Brown is “pushing” for the organization to promote bench coach Joe Espada to take over for Baker in the role. That being said, even an endorsement from Brown doesn’t necessarily guarantee the job will go to Espada; after all, as recent reports have indicated that both owner Jim Crane and adviser Jeff Bagwell will have “immense say” over who takes the reins from Baker in the dugout when all is said and done. Former Tigers and Angels manager Brad Ausmus along with third base coach Omar Lopez are among the other rumored contenders for the managerial gig in Houston.
  • Before the Padres settled on Bob Melvin to manage the club during the 2021-22 offseason, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune indicates that president of baseball operations met with former Padres and Giants manager Bruce Bochy regarding his interest in the position. Krasovic relays that per Bochy’s agent Tony Attanasio, Preller and Bochy met twice that offseason in Bochy’s home in Nashville, TN. Attanasio suggests that Bochy wasn’t especially interested in returning to San Diego, and of course the club wound up hiring Melvin for the role instead. For his part, Bochy would return to the game as skipper of the Rangers in 2023, leading the club to its first World Series championship in franchise history.

Rangers Win World Series

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With a 5-0 victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, the Rangers claimed their first World Series championship in franchise history. They took the series four games to one, splitting the first two contests at Globe Life Field in Texas before winning all three at Chase Field in Arizona.

The franchise was established in 1961 as the Washington Senators, before moving to Arlington in 1972. The Rangers won back-to-back AL pennants in 2010 and ’11 but lost in the World Series both years. They held the second-longest championship drought in baseball, a title that now falls to the Brewers, who have not won a World Series in their 55-year history. The Guardians, having last won a World Series in 1948, still hold the longest championship drought in the game at 75 years and counting.

Including Milwaukee, there are now just five franchises that have yet to win a World Series: the Brewers, Padres, Mariners, Rockies, and Rays.

The Rangers took fate into their own hands over the past two seasons, signing stars like Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi to large contracts to accelerate their competitive window. They burst out of the gate in 2023, going 17-11 (.607) in April and 52-39 (.571) in the first half. General Manager Chris Young remained aggressive at the trade deadline, adding Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery to replenish a depleted rotation. The moves paid off, and the Rangers finished 90-72 with a +165 run differential. Although they lost the division crown on a tiebreaker, they swept their way to the ALCS and dethroned the Astros in a thrilling seven-game series. Just two years removed from a 102-loss season, the Rangers are World Series champions.

Seager was named World Series MVP for his dominant offensive performance against Arizona. In five games, he smacked three home runs, driving in six. The star shortstop led all players in the World Series in Win Probability Added (WPA), scoring a run in all four Texas victories. Overall, he hit .318 with a 1.133 OPS in the postseason. It is his second time winning World Series MVP honors, after previously taking home the award in 2020 with the Dodgers.

Additional hitters from the championship team who merit special recognition for their postseason performance include Adolis García and Evan Carter. On the pitching side, Montgomery and Eovaldi offered particularly praiseworthy performances, as did Josh Sborz and José Leclerc. García led the team with eight home runs and a whopping 22 RBI throughout the playoffs, taking home ALCS MVP honors. Unfortunately, his postseason ended early after an oblique strain in Game 3. Carter, the rookie phenom, was an integral part of the team’s offense despite making his MLB debut this past September. He is only 21 years old.

Eovaldi made six starts across the four series, going 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA. Montgomery was similarly dominant, appearing in six games (five starts) and posting a 2.90 ERA of his own. Meanwhile, Leclerc and Sborz were a lethal combination out of the bullpen. Leclerc, the longest-tenured player on the roster, was reliable as ever, pitching in 13 contests and putting up a 3.29 ERA. Sborz, for his part, showed up seemingly out of nowhere, tossing 12 innings and giving up just one run, good for a 0.75 ERA. Over the past three years with Texas, he has a 4.98 ERA. However, his underlying numbers have long suggested he is better than his ERA, and with his performance this postseason, he proved that to be true.

Manager Bruce Bochy collects his fourth World Series title, having won with the Giants in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Funnily enough, his Giants beat the Rangers to win it all in 2010. The long-time manager came out of retirement to join the Rangers in 2023, a surprising move at the time, but clearly a shrewd decision.

With the World Series wrapped up, it’s time for the offseason to officially begin. Teams can start making trades on Thursday, and they will be able to sign free agents on Monday. That’s also the deadline for teams to make option decisions, to issue qualifying offers, and to add players from the 60-day injured list back to the 40-man roster. The non-tender deadline is November 17.

Rangers Hire Bruce Bochy As Manager

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The Rangers have hired Bruce Bochy as the club’s next manager, announcing that Bochy has signed a three-year contract.

There was increased speculation in recent days linking Bochy to the job, especially when Rangers GM Chris Young (who played under Bochy on the 2006 Padres) visited the veteran manager at his home in Nashville, rather than a formal interview.  Interim Rangers manager Tony Beasley was the only other candidate known to receive an interview, further adding to the idea that the team had narrowed its focus towards bringing Bochy back to the dugout after three years away from the game.

Bruce BochyIn the team’s official press release, Bochy said he is “incredibly excited to be joining the Texas Rangers.  Over the last several days, I’ve had extensive conversations with Chris Young and other individuals in the organization, and I had the chance to meet with [co-owner] Ray Davis.  Their vision and commitment to putting together a club that can contend and win year in and year out is impressive, and I became convinced I wanted to be a part of that.  If I was going to return to managing, it had to be the right situation.  I strongly believe that to be the case with the Rangers, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Bochy brings 25 years of experience as a Major League skipper, managing the Padres from 1995-2006 and then the Giants from 2007-2019.  During his long career, the 67-year-old Bochy has overseen rebuilding clubs, contenders, and teams that took dips in performance and then returned to contention — there have been enough ebbs and flows that Bochy actually has a career losing record, at 2003-2029.

However, Bochy’s resume also includes some major successes.  The Giants won three World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014 under Bochy’s leadership, as the “Even Year” mini-dynasty brought the organization back to championship glory for the first time since 1954.  (Ironically, the 2010 Giants defeated the Rangers in the Series.)  Bochy also managed another NL pennant winner in the 1998 Padres, which marked the last time that San Diego reached the World Series.

The hire represents a change in direction for the Rangers, as the club tended to hire first-time managers when Jon Daniels was in charge of baseball operations.  (Interim manager Don Wakamatsu ran the team for 10 games in 2018, and was the only one of the last six Texas managers to have any previous MLB experience as a skipper.)  Of course, Daniels was himself fired in August, shortly after ex-manager Chris Woodward was also let go.

Daniels’ firing reportedly even caught Young by surprise, as Young suddenly found himself in charge of an organization that is eager to start winning.  Texas spent big last winter in signing Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jon Gray, and while the team itself felt 2023 might be a more realistic target date for a return to contention, the 2022 club didn’t show much progress in posting a 68-94 record.  This clearly wasn’t good enough for Davis and the Rangers’ ownership group, who didn’t even wait until the end of the season before overhauling the front office.

With Texas sitting at six consecutive losing seasons, there is certainly pressure on Young and Bochy to start delivering some better results in 2023.  The Rangers are again expected to be aggressive this winter, whether that manifests itself as more splashy free agent signings, or trades for proven veterans.

The Royals, White Sox, and Marlins are now the only teams looking to fill managerial vacancies.  In addition to Bochy’s hiring, the Blue Jays (John Schneider), Angels (Phil Nevin), and Phillies (Rob Thomson) all officially signed their interim skippers from 2022 for the full-time positions.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Rangers GM Chris Young Meets With Bruce Bochy

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Bruce Bochy has been frequently mentioned as a possible candidate to be the Rangers’ next manager, and some possible progress in that direction may have taken place yesterday, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that Bochy met with Rangers GM Chris Young.  The meeting took place in Bochy’s hometown of Nashville, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Young was seen on a flight to Nashville on Wednesday.

It is perhaps incorrect to consider the meeting as a proper interview, in the sense of how most managerial candidates are usually conducted.  “It is not clear if Bochy is interested in officially interviewing for the job with the Rangers’ search committee,” Grant writes, but it’s safe to assume Bochy and Young discussed the possibility of the World Series-winning skipper taking over in the dugout.  In fact, such a meeting might be indicative of Bochy’s standing, with Grant noting that Bochy “is widely considered the frontrunner for the job.”

Interim manager Tony Beasley is the only candidate known to have interviewed thus far, and while any number of popular coaches or ex-managers could yet emerge in the search, hiring a manager with the 67-year-old Bochy’s track record might be a preferred direction for a Rangers organization that is eager to start winning.  Last offseason’s spending splurge promised at least some improvement, yet as Texas struggled to a 68-94 record this season, longtime president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and former manager Chris Woodward were both fired in August.  Daniels’ departure put Young in charge of baseball operations, and faced his first managerial hire, it makes sense that Young might turn to a familiar face — Bochy managed Young when the former right-hander pitched for the Padres in 2006.

Over 25 seasons as manager of the Padres and Giants, Bochy had his share of lean years, as evidenced by a 2003-2029 career record that dips under the .500 mark.  However, the peaks were as high as could be, as Bochy led San Francisco to World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014, making Bochy one of only 10 managers in history with at least three Series championships.

Bochy semi-retired following the 2019 season, as while he has consistently remained open to the idea of a potential return, Bochy wanted to take at least the 2020 season off before deciding his next move.  That retirement has now lasted for three seasons, though he has also acted as a special adviser to the Giants during that time.

Brian Sabean Reportedly Interested In Mets’ President Job

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Former Giants general manager Brian Sabean is interested in the Mets’ open president of baseball operations position, according to a report from Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News. She says that he is looking for a new challenge and is “going stir crazy in San Francisco with essentially nothing to do” and would move to New York “in a heartbeat” if given the chance. It would be a semi-homecoming for him to come to New York, as he was a scout with the Yankees before joining the Giants.

Sabean was the general manager of the Giants from 1997 to 2014 and was an integral part of their magnificent run of play in the last decade, which included three World Series championships in five years, as they got to spray the champagne in 2010, 2012 and 2014. In 2015, Sabean was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations, with Bobby Evans becoming general manager and largely taking over the baseball decision making. In late 2018, Farhan Zaidi was hired as the Giants’ new president of baseball operations, with Sabean staying with the organization in an advisory capacity and doing some player scouting.

At the end of the 2019 season, there was some speculation that Sabean was being considered to join the Marlins organization to replace Michael Hill as that club’s president of baseball operations, though he ended up staying in San Francisco.

The fact that Sabean has such a lengthy track record would fit somewhat with previous reporting about the qualities the Mets are looking for in their next president. They have also been connected to experienced front office members such as Theo Epstein, Billy Beane and David Stearns. All three of those options appear to be dead-ends for the Mets, though, leaving the post open. However, the 65-year-old Sabean is also different than those three in some respects. Stearns is 36, Epstein 47 and Beane 59, making Sabean older than all three and significantly older than Stearns and Epstein. They’ve also all been actively participating in running baseball front offices in recent years, as opposed to Sabean, who has seemingly been operating in a fairly limited role for about seven years now.

Thosar’s report says it’s unclear if the Mets have reached out to Sabean. It’s also unclear if they’re willing to change their preferences to include someone like Sabean in their search. Although, considering that they keep crossing names off the top of their list, they may have to make adjustments to their preferences at some point.

Thosar also suggests that this could be a two-for-one deal, with Sabean’s hiring being followed by Bruce Bochy being brought in to take over the manager’s chair, which was recently left vacant when the Mets declined their option on Luis Rojas. Bochy was hired to manage the Giants in 2007, during Sabean’s time as general manager, and stayed through the 2019 season. He was recently rumored to be in consideration for the Padres’ open managerial position. Bochy is 66 years old and would buck the trend of teams hiring younger managers, though that trend has also been countered by the recent hirings of Tony La Russa (77) and Dusty Baker (72).

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