Smooth Transition: Mike Maddux Knows New Texas Rangers Pitchers Well
ARLINGTON, Texas – The transition for players changing teams at the trade deadline can be a tumultuous moment for them and their families.
For the three pitchers the Texas Rangers acquired in the final hours before Tuesday's deadline, there was a not-so-secret weapon.
Pitching coach Mike Maddux knows all three pitchers well, including starters Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery, and reliever Chris Stratton. Everyone involved hopes those previous relationships help them quickly assimilate into the Rangers clubhouse and produce on the field.
"To come in and get two healthy [starting] arms right now is a blessing," Maddux said. "You gotta thank [general manager Chris Young], and thank ownership for allowing things to happen, but it sure made us better."
The three-time Cy Young award winner Scherzer, 39, makes his Rangers debut at 3:05 p.m. Thursday in the series finale against the Chicago White Sox. Montgomery, the 30-year-old left-hander, is slated to start the series opener against the Miami Marlins at 7:05 p.m. Friday.
"He's a great baseball mind. He really studies the game, really studies the hitters, really comes up with very, very good reports," said Scherzer who won two of his Cy Youngs in Maddux's two seasons with the Washington Nationals in 2016 and 2017. "Probably some of the best reports I've come across in my time in the big leagues. And so I've really enjoyed working with him. So when I knew he was the pitching coach, I knew this would be an easy transition for me."
Maddux was the Rangers' pitching coach from 2009-2015 and returned to the club in December after spending the previous five seasons as the St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach.
That's where he worked with Montgomery and Stratton.
"He has the old-school mentality and I think the game, the way that it's headed, you know, in the analytics, I think it's been big to have that old-school mentality to fall back on and having [manager Bruce Bochy] back as well, both of those guys know how to win and they know what it takes to do it," Stratton said.
Both Scherzer and Montgomery, when asked about their connection to Maddux, referred glowingly to him as "Mad Dog."
"He knows pitching, he knows how to sequence and do everything and just get outs. And I think he makes everybody better," Montgomery said.
Montgomery brings a 3.42 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 121 innings from a flailing St. Louis team. Scherzer brings a 4.01 ERA – his highest in 12 seasons – along with 121 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings from the struggling New York Mets.
Maddux watched Scherzer throw his first bullpen session with Texas on Monday.
"I did a little bit of homework on some things that I’ll keep in-house. He threw a bullpen yesterday and essentially has the same delivery that he’s had," he said.
Maddux indicated that Scherzer's season, which the pitcher called "Jekyll and Hyde," could be more about mentality, than mechanics.
"It looks the same to the naked eye but it might be a little different thoughts of what [he's] focusing on here, whether it’s getting out front or staying back or getting on top or where [his] arm slot is," Maddux said. "We talked about those [Monday]."
Maddux said Scherzer has struggled to locate a specific pitch, but discovered something recently and announced he had it back.
"Just little things like that that don’t show up to the naked, or even to the trained eye, they won’t show up, because it’s just a thought," he said. "And he got his thoughts right and he had a good game in his last game."
Scherzer held the Nats to a run on six hits and two walks and struck out seven in seven innings in his final start Friday for the Mets.
"This is fun to get back with Mad Dog. Had a great run with him there in DC. Talking to the guys, it seems like he's got the same lingo, the same way he breaks down hitters," Scherzer said.
Maddux called him an "alpha competitor," which the Rangers hope not only rubs off the rest of the staff but translates to a deep postseason run.
"You’re 39 years old and you're still grinding because you love the game," Maddux said. "That’s no accident that you play that long and you’re that successful unless you’re like the ultimate competitive guy. And that’s him, he’s the alpha competitor."
And the built-in relationships could help jump-start that success.
"You’re already got some traction with him, No. 1. It does make it easy," Maddux said of all three pitchers. "They know what is expected, just because we’ve had them in the past. They know it’s not a free lunch out there. You have to do the little things. You've got to compete and that’s why they’re big leaguers because they compete well. Use your stuff accordingly, and be accountable. Just all of the little things they’re not going to have to learn, it’s not going to be new for them. It makes that transition all the smoother."
You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.
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