Thursday, October 09

ARLINGTON -- A season of change is afoot in Texas as the Rangers parted ways with manager Bruce Bochy and replaced him with Skip Schumaker. 

Since winning the World Series in 2023, the Rangers have failed to make the postseason in back-to-back years. The front office believes that Schumaker is the guy to get them back to the top of the mountain. But there’s a lot that needs to change for that to happen again. 

“Only one team wins every year, and it’s very hard to do. But I’m very proud of the health of this organization,” president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “Results are measured not only by the Major League team, but throughout the organization. I’m proud of where we are and how we function. There’s always room for improvement, but I believe we are a championship organization.”

Here are five questions that the Rangers must face this offseason before getting back to the postseason and hopefully the World Series:

How will things change with Skip Schumaker at the helm?

A managerial chance always brings about questions, there’s no way around it. And after missing the postseason for two years in a row, Schumaker surely wants to put his own spin on things coming in behind Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy.  

Firstly, Young said all of the coaching staff remains in good standing and the hope is that a number of them return to join Schumaker’s staff. But the new skipper will have the power to make decisions on his team as he sees fit. 

It’ll be a busy offseason for Schumaker and the front office to get the ball moving. 

How will the offensive philosophy change?

The Rangers have now had two straight years of offensive regression across the board. They tried to remedy things midway through the 2025 season, when they fired offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker and brought in a fresh voice with Bret Boone. 

But the club still finished 26th in batting average (.234) and 26th in OPS (.684). Though injuries to Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford eventually sunk the season for good, the offense collectively was not carrying its weight before that.

“I think that the big thing for us is determining philosophically, what we want to see, and now having an offseason where we can actually work with our hitters and stay on top of that and make sure that we continue a philosophy that we think is what's needed moving forward,” Young said. “I think that alone will have an impact.”

The bullpen needs to be rebuilt from scratch again, how will Young do it?

Young rebuilt a bullpen almost entirely from scratch in 2025. It worked admirably, with a 3.62 ERA on the season, good for fifth in baseball. But with almost all of those guys -- Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb, Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe -- becoming free agents after the World Series, Young will have to do it all over again. 

And more importantly, the Rangers could use a closer as well after going 37-for-66 in save opportunities as a whole this season. 

“We didn't necessarily have a bona fide closer this year,” Young said. “Certainly there were times where we lost games late. But I think it's too early to determine that. Ideally, we would have a closer. We'd have 10 unbelievable starting pitchers. We're going to have to pick and choose what we feel like are the most impactful positions to fill with the resources we have. But I do believe that we have some good arms internally.”

How will they fill in the rotation? 

The core of the rotation is great, with co-aces Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi headlining a staff with soon to be second year pitchers Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. But with Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin and Merrill Kelly all becoming free agents, the Rangers no doubt need more than just one arm to finish out the depth of the rotation. 

Cody Bradford, who has an internal brace on June 25, should be back by the summer, but the Rangers will clearly be on the market for veteran arms that can eat quality innings throughout the year. 

When will top prospect Sebastian Walcott become an option?

He’s only 19 and hasn’t yet played above Double-A, but Rangers’ top prospect Sebatian Walcott is knocking on the door of the big leagues. The Bahamian shortstop had his ups and down in his first full season with the Frisco RoughRiders, but finished on a hot streak to get to a  .255/.355/.386 slash line. 

Walcott has impressed the big league staff in Spring Training and has been a star at nearly every level. But Young did note that the organization does not want to “rush” the process when it comes to him. 

“We want to make sure that we take the necessary developmental steps,” he said. “He is a unique talent. …The hope is that we can give him the time he needs to develop, and then he'll knock the door down when he's ready. My hope is that it's next year, because I think it would be great for our fans, and I think when he does get here, he's going to help us win.”

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