Texas Rangers Fire Chris Woodward
The Rangers fired Chris Woodward on Monday, bringing an end to the manager's tenure in Texas midway through his fourth season with the club.
The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant was the first to break the dismissal. The Rangers then announced the move, adding that third base coach Tony Beasley has been named the team’s interim manager, starting with Monday's game against the Athletics.
Beasley will remain in his new role through the end of the 2022 season.
“In his tenure as Rangers’ manager, Chris worked tirelessly under what was at times some difficult circumstances," Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels said in a statement. "He has been dedicated and passionate in his efforts to improve the on-field performance of the Texas Rangers, and it is greatly appreciated. He has represented the organization with class and dignity.
“We have had extensive discussions over the last several weeks and while the team’s current performance is certainly a big part of this decision, we are also looking at the future. As the Rangers continue to develop a winning culture and put the pieces together to compete for the postseason year in and year out, we felt a change in leadership was necessary at this time."
Woodward, 46, went 211-287 as the Rangers' skipper, his first big league managerial job. That record includes a 51-63 mark this season, which has the Rangers sitting in third place in the American League West following an offseason of heavy spending on Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and others.
Hired in November 2018, Woodward also spent 12 years as an MLB infielder from 1999-2011.
Beasley, meanwhile, is in his eighth season as a Rangers coach. Hired in 2014, he is the longest-tenured member of the team's staff. The 55-year-old also has major league coaching experience with Washington and Pittsburgh. He spent eight seasons as a minor league manager between those two organizations.
