Rangers Make Pitching Coach Change
The Rangers have announced that co-pitching coaches Doug Mathis and Brendan Sagara will not return in those roles next season. Mathis will not return to the organization in any capacity, while Sagara has been offered a different position within the organization. Moreover, first base coach Josh Johnson will move to an on-the-field minor league player development position that has yet to be determined. The remaining members of the coaching staff have been offered a chance to return with roles to be determined once the Rangers have completed their managerial search.
Mathis began his career in a playing role, starting with the Rangers Single-A minor league affiliate in 2006. He made his major league debut in 2008 and was shuttled on and off the field between 2008-2010, eventually spending time in the KBO, NPB, and CPBL before transitioning to coaching in 2017.
Contrastly, Sagara’s career has been largely coaching-based. Since college baseball at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Sagara has been a coach in the Mets, Braves, Marlins, Cubs, and Rangers systems before being promoted to co-pitching coach for the Rangers in late 2020.
Johnson has been with the Rangers organization since 2019, beginning in Single-A and joining the major league team in mid-August 2022 after then-manager Chris Woodward was fired. Third base coach Tony Beasley moved up to interim manager, while Corey Ragsdale was moved to third base. Johnson came up from the minors to coach first base.
Mathis and Sagara were given the title of co-pitching coaches after the 2020 season, with then GM and President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels explaining that the team viewed the duo as having “some individual strengths” and that he considers the role as having “a lot to do, and it’s a bigger job than just one person,” per Levi Weaver of The Athletic.
However, since the start of the 2021 season, the pitching staff hasn’t had much success. Rangers’ starters have the fifth-highest ERA (4.98), eighth-lowest strikeout percentage (19.5%), and sixth-highest walk percentage (8.4%). Relievers have had slightly more success, with the Rangers’ bullpen issuing a slightly below-average 3.92 ERA, low 22.4% strikeout rate, and higher-than-average 9.5% walk rate.
Those struggles continued this season, with Texas’ rotation posting a 4.63 ERA in 2022. Free agent signee Martin Perez had a great season and Jon Gray was solid when healthy, but the back of the rotation was a problem all year. Dane Dunning, Glenn Otto, Taylor Hearn and former top prospect Spencer Howard all struggled during their work in the rotation.
It isn’t clear whether the Rangers will again look to deploy a co-pitching coach arrangement or identify one hire to assume the job. Daniels is no longer in the organization, with Chris Young now leading baseball operations. Of course, Young also has to decide how to proceed at manager. Beasley figures to get some consideration for the permanent position, but Young and his group could also look outside the organization for a new skipper.
Rangers Name Doug Mathis, Brendan Sagara Co-Pitching Coaches
OCT. 26: Mathis and Brendan Sagara will serve as co-pitching coaches, TR Sullivan of MLB.com was among those to report. Sagara was previously the Rangers’ Triple-A pitching coach.
OCT. 23: The Rangers plan to name bullpen coach Doug Mathis as their pitching coach, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Mathis will take over for Julio Rangel, whom the Rangers said goodbye to earlier this month.
Mathis will grab the helm of a pitching staff that struggled for two seasons under Rangel, combining for the majors’ fifth worst-ERA (5.07) and its seventh-highest FIP (4.85). In fairness to Rangel, though, the Rangers weren’t exactly teeming with talent on his watch. However, they did at least get back-to-back solid seasons from right-hander Lance Lynn (whom they could trade during the winter), while Jonathan Hernandez blossomed in their bullpen this year.
The 37-year-old Mathis has long been familiar to the Rangers, who spent a 13th-round pick on him in 2005 before he was part of their coaching staff. As a player, Mathis didn’t have an extensive career with the team, though all 87 1/3 innings during his MLB tenure came with Texas. He logged a 4.84 ERA with the club from 2008-10.
Minor Moves: Robert Stock, Doug Mathis
Here are today’s minor moves:
- Former Cardinals farmhand Robert Stock was the first pick in this year’s independent Frontier League draft, the league announced. The right-hander and former second-round pick topped out at High-A in his career in affiliated ball but worked to a 4.17 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings. Of course, he also walked 120 in that time, demonstrating some control problems that likely hampered his advancement through the St. Louis organization. The full list of draftees is available in the above link, with several former Minor Leaguers appearing on the list.
- Former Rangers righty Doug Mathis is headed to Taiwan to join the Uni-President Lions, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. The 31-year-old saw action at the major league level from 2008-10, working to a 4.84 ERA over 87 1/3 innings. Mathis has spent most of his time since at Triple-A with several organizations. All said, across parts of eight seasons at the highest level of the minors, Mathis owns a 4.24 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 over 592 innings.
Minor Moves: Oeltjen, Mathis
Here are today's minor moves from around baseball.
- The Diamondbacks have reinstated outfielder Trent Oeltjen from the disabled list and loaned him to Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Oeltjen, 31, has a .220/.299/.384 career batting line, with his last appearance in the big leagues coming in 2011 with the Dodgers. He hit .255/.345/.483 for Triple-A Salt Lake in 2014.
- The Rangers released pitcher Doug Mathis, according to the same PCL transactions page. Mathis posted a 3.85 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 114 2/3 innings for the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans in 2013.
Rangers Sign Lillibridge, Wilson, Kouzmanoff
The Rangers announced that they've signed Kevin Kouzmanoff, Brent Lillibridge, Armando Rodriguez and Josh Wilson to minor league deals with invites to Spring Training.
Lillibridge, 30, batted .119/.133/.136 in 61 plate appearances between the Cubs and Yankees last season. The utility man showed promise with the White Sox in his age-27 season back in 2011, batting .258/.340/.505 with 13 homers in 216 plate appearances. Over the course of his career, however, he's a .205/.267/.332 hitter.
Wilson, 32, batted .200/.262/.300 in 65 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2013. He's a career .225/.278/.317 hitter in 1077 plate appearances between the D-Backs, Mariners, Rays, Padres, Nationals, Marlins and Brewers.
Kouzmanoff, 32, spent four seasons as the everyday third baseman for the Padres and A's, slashing .259/.303/.426 with 75 homers. He spent 2013 in the Marlins organization, batting .294/.344/.440 at Triple-A.
Rodriguez, 25, split the 2013 season between Double-A and Triple-A with the Mets, posting a combined 4.81 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings.
The Rangers also announced that they inked righty Doug Mathis to a minor league pact, though Mathis' deal doesn't contain an invite to Spring Training. Mathis posted a 4.84 ERA in 87 1/3 innings for the Rangers from 2008-10 and split last season between the Triple-A affiliates for the Marlins and Pirates.
Minor Moves: Astros, Ryan Roberts, Doug Mathis
Here are Sunday's minor moves from around MLB:
- The Astros will sign first baseman Japhet Amador and outfielder Leonardo Heras from Diablos Rojos in the Mexican League, according to a team press release. The 26-year-old Amador, who is listed at 6'4" and 315 pounds, was hitting .368/.419/.693 with 36 home runs in 449 plate appearances. Heras, 23, was hitting .310/.398/.519. The amounts of their bonuses are unclear.
- Ryan Roberts has cleared waivers and has accepted the Rays' outright assignment to Triple-A Durham, tweets the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith. Roberts was designated for assignment Thursday after hitting .247/.295/.377 with five home runs in 173 plate appearances for Tampa Bay.
- The Pirates have acquired right-hander Doug Mathis from the Marlins for a player to be named later or cash, tweets Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mathis, who has spent the entire season at Triple-A New Orleans, will be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Mathis, who last appeared in a MLB game in 2010 with the Rangers, has posted a 3.85 ERA, 6.7 K/9, and 4.2 BB/9 over 114 2/3 innings with the Zephyrs covering 24 games (21 starts).
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Headley, Fire Sales, Draft Picks
With such notable names as Zack Greinke, Wandy Rodriguez and Hanley Ramirez already dealt, what other big moves could see as we head into the last weekend before the trade deadline? Here are a few items to kick off Saturday…
- The Padres have sent three officials to watch the Orioles over the last two weeks, with senior VP Omar Minaya in attendance at Camden Yards for Friday's Athletics/Orioles game at Camden Yards, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Of course, Minaya could have also been watching the visitors, given that both Oakland and Baltimore are two of the top suitors for Chase Headley.
- Would-be contenders aren't shying away from dealing away major pieces in an effort to start fresh, opines MLB.com's Terence Moore. "Trades also are now more about trading contracts than trading players, which is part of the bottom line: People in baseball are looking for ways to control those payrolls and budgets," says SiriusXM Radio's Steve Phillips.
- The new CBA rules prohibiting draft pick compensation for teams who acquire "rental players" is having an impact on the deadline movement, writes MLB.com's Paul Hagen.
- The Chiba Lotte Marines announced the acquisitions of left-hander Wil Ledezma and right-hander Doug Mathis, according to a Sponichi news report (passed on by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker). Ledezma, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers last winter but posted a 6.99 ERA in 38 relief appearances at Triple-A Albuquerque. The nine-year Major League veteran pitched five games for the Blue Jays in 2011. Mathis, 29, last appeared in the Majors with the Rangers in 2010 and had previously signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in January.
Red Sox Sign Carlos Silva, Ciriaco, Spears
The Red Sox have announced the signings of minor league free agents Carlos Silva, Brandon Duckworth, Charlie Haeger, Will Inman, Doug Mathis, Tony Pena Jr., Chorye Spoone, Jesse Carlson, Rich Hill, Justin Thomas, Pedro Ciriaco, and Nate Spears. The signings of Spoone, Thomas, Inman, Pena, Carlson, and Hill had been reported previously.
Silva, 32, was released by the Cubs in March of 2011 with $11.5MM remaining on his contract. He signed with the Yankees in April, but was released in July amid shoulder problems after seven minor league starts. The control artist was useful upon his initial change of scenery, posting a 4.22 ERA in 21 starts for the 2010 Cubs after the Milton Bradley trade. As the Red Sox press release notes, "No active hurler with at least 750.0 innings pitched has fewer walks per nine innings than Silva (1.73)." Silva will make a prorated $1MM while in the Majors, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.
Ciriaco, 26, was non-tendered by the Pirates in December. The middle infielder hit .231/.243/.300 in 289 plate appearances in his second career Triple-A stint. Spears, a versatile 26-year-old, spent the last two years in Boston's minor league system. In 2011 he hit .248/.355/.397 in 378 plate appearances, getting his first cup of coffee with the big club.
Haeger, a 28-year-old knuckeballer, spent 2011 with the Mariners' Triple-A club and the Red Sox' Double-A team. He posted a 5.44 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 5.9 BB/9, and 0.92 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings. Mathis, a 28-year-old righty, last appeared in the bigs in 2010 with the Rangers. As a starter for the Giants' and Athletics' Triple-A affiliates, he put up a 4.27 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 4.2 BB/9, and 0.63 HR/9 in 86 1/3 innings. Duckworth, 35, last appeared in the Majors in 2008. He spent 2011 with Boston's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.97 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, and 0.84 HR/9 in 118 innings.
West Notes: Rockies, Padres, Mariners
Baseball's western divisions have the Rangers, Angels, Giants, and Diamondbacks as contenders, with the Mariners, Athletics, Rockies, Dodgers, and Padres looking like potential sellers. Today's links:
- There's little the Rockies could obtain that would justify trading Ubaldo Jimenez, explains Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. It was revealed Saturday that the Rockies will listen on their ace, but Renck says Dan O'Dowd is the rare GM who will engage in trade talk that's headed nowhere just to understand other teams' needs.
- O'Dowd told MLB.com's Thomas Harding that he's looking for a strike-throwing pitcher who's under team control beyond 2011. The Rockies, who have been eyeing pitching for a while, will look for deals that make sense for the team's present and long-term well-being, O'Dowd says.
- The Padres want "impact players in return for their movable pieces," tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock. The Padres' best trade chips are relievers Heath Bell and Mike Adams, though Ryan Ludwick, Aaron Harang, and Chad Qualls should draw interest.
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner runs through the Mariners' trade chips, led by Brandon League and Erik Bedard.
- Righty Doug Mathis is headed for Korea to play with the Samsung Lions, tweets Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. To make it official, he'll need his release from the Athletics' Triple-A club. Kurtz notes that Ryan Garko would be released from the Lions to make room.
Athletics Sign Doug Mathis
The Athletics have signed Doug Mathis to a minor league deal according to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League transactions page. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants back in April, but apparently became a free agent at some point since then.
Mathis, 28, made 13 starts for San Francisco's Triple-A affiliate and posted a 3.60 ERA in 65 innings. He struck out 7.5 batters per nine innings while walking 4.3 per nine. Mathis appeared in 45 games (six starts) for the Rangers from 2008-2010, pitching to a 4.84 ERA in 87 1/3 innings. The Athletics have a full five-man rotation on the disabled list right now (Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, Rich Harden, Brandon McCarthy, and Tyson Ross), so Mathis will give them some much needed depth.