The Rangers are proving that the old adage is true: the only secure jobs in the U.S. are federal judges.
On Wednesday after Texas was sunk by American League (AL) cellar-dwelling Oakland 5-1 on Tuesday night, the Rangers disclosed that Jon Daniels had been relieved of his duties as president of baseball operations. This came only days after the team sacked manager Chris Woodward.
The Rangers organization announced that Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Young would now be responsible for all aspects of baseball operations. Young was hired to work with Daniels in December 2020 and has been involved in all aspects of the department since then.
Texas Rangers Managing Partner & Majority Owner Ray Davis said in a statement that Daniels’ accomplishments as a Ranger included leading the best teams in franchise history to five playoff appearances and two American League pennants between 2010 and 2016.
Daniels joined the Texas baseball operations department in 2002, and on October 4, 2005, he was named the Rangers’ eighth General Manager. In 2013, he was promoted to President of Baseball Operations.
“His impact on the growth of our player development, scouting, and analytics groups has been immense,” Davis said. “Jon has always had the best interests of the Rangers organization in mind on and off the field and in the community.”
But, Davis said the bottom line in pro baseball is winning, and the Rangers have not done much of that lately, boasting no winning record since 2016.
“And for much of that time, [we] have not been competitive in the AL West Division,” he said. “While I am certain we are heading in the right direction, I feel a change in the leadership of the baseball operations department will be beneficial going forward.”
Daniels’ ousting comes on the heels of the Rangers parting ways with Woodward on Monday and replacing him with Tony Beasly for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Young has been with the Rangers for the last 21 months, and Davis feels his new president of baseball operations has brought welcome energy and new ideas to the ball club.
“I am confident in Chris’ ability to lead our baseball operations with the goal of producing a consistent winner on the field,” he said.
