Browsing: Schumaker

The Texas Rangers are hiring Skip Schumaker as their next manager, replacing World Series winner Bruce Bochy, the club announced Friday. Schumaker has reportedly agreed to a four-year deal.

The hire is hardly a surprising one. Schumaker spent the 2025 season as a special advisor to Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. Back when that hire was announced, there was speculation that the 45-year-old’s real job was manager-in-waiting for the 70-year-old Bochy, and that is now coming to pass.

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It was reported by the Associated Press earlier Friday that Schumaker was the central focus of the Rangers’ managerial search.

Bochy and the Rangers “mutually” parted ways soon after a disappointing 2025 regular season, with the club noting that Bochy was offered an advisor role in the front office. It’s unclear if Bochy will take them up on that, find a job with a different team or retire again.

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An 11-year MLB veteran as a player, Schumaker spent time on the coaching staffs of the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals before landing the Miami Marlins managerial job after the 2022 season. He quickly earned respect as he led the usually moribund franchise to a surprise wild-card berth in his first season.

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The 2024 season was more trying for the Marlins, who went 62-98 and finished last in the NL East. Schumaker then made a surprise resignation after that season and immediately became one of the most attractive options on the manager market, though he ultimately took the Rangers job after the only other two teams looking for a skipper — the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox — opted for different names.

Schumaker now takes over a Rangers clubhouse that has fallen off a bit since a breakthrough 2023 World Series title. The team went 78-84 in 2024 and 81-81 in 2025 as it struggled with injuries up and down the roster. It enters the offseason with clear needs for its pitching staff, having already spent plenty of money in recent winters.

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There is still definitely talent in the organization, though, from veterans (Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom, Marcus Semien, Nate Eovaldi) to youngsters (Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, top prospect Sebastian Walcott). It will be on Schumaker to keep them all on the right track as Texas tries to compete in an AL West that features a fading Houston Astros team and the upstart Seattle Mariners.

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers†search for Bruce Bochyâ€s replacement is centered on Skip Schumaker, a former NL Manager of the Year who has worked in their organization for the past year.

“We have a lead candidate internally that weâ€re focused on,†Chris Young, the teamâ€s president of baseball operations, said Friday.

Young acknowledged that he had begun what he would consider a formal interview process, and that there were not yet any external candidates.

“At this point, we havenâ€t focused there yet,†he said. “Our hope is that we donâ€t have to.â€

Schumaker, a special advisor for the Rangers, was the 2023 NL Manager of the Year when Miami went 84-78 and made the fourth postseason appearance in club history. That was the same year Texas, with Bochy in his debut there, won its first World Series championship.

The Rangers and the 70-year-old Bochy, a four-time World Series champion who was baseballâ€s winningest active manager, mutually agreed Monday to end his managerial stint. That was the day after Texas finished 81-81 for its second non-winning record since its championship. Bochy was at the end of his three-year contract.

The Marlins slipped to 62-100 in 2024 after changes in the front office and a roster decimated by trades and injuries. Schumaker and the team mutually agreed that he wouldnâ€t return for this season.

Texas hired Schumaker last November, a move viewed by many as making him the heir apparent for Bochy. Schumaker remains under contract with the organization through the end of October.

There are seven other MLB teams also looking for new managers. Young wouldnâ€t say if any other teams had requested permission to speak with the 45-year-old Shumaker about their openings.

When asked if there was worry about Schumaker in relation to those other openings, Young said: “Iâ€m not overly concerned at this point.â€

Before going to Miami, Schumaker was a bench coach for St. Louis, where he played for the Cardinals during their 2011 World Series win over Texas. He played 11 big league seasons with St. Louis (2005-12), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013) and Cincinnati (2014-15).

Rangers general manager Ross Fenstermaker said while Schumaker lives on the West Coast, he has been very involved with the team in his advisory role.

“Heâ€d spend time with us and many different folks in the front office, add his perspective, his wisdom. He was around and available a lot,†Fenstermaker said. “We probably talked to him every few days, if not daily, throughout the course of the year and bounce ideas off him and get his perspective.â€

Bochy has been offered an advisory role in the Rangers front office. He also could be in line for such a position with the San Francisco Giants, though he isnâ€t a candidate for the managerial opening of the team he led to three World Series titles from 2010-14.

With 2,252 wins, Bochy is sixth among all managers, with the five ahead of him all in the Hall of Fame.

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