The First Move the Texas Rangers Front Office Must Make This Offseason

The Texas Rangers are watching the playoffs on television for the third straight year. Their failure to get to the playoffs was a team effort.

Their failure on the field was based on underachievement. The Rangers won 80 games and finished one game behind the Houston Astros in the AL West. President of baseball operations Chris Young said much of the responsibility lies with him. But that's not the whole story.

It's on the players, the coaching staff, the scouting group and everyone responsible for the on-field product. That includes owner Ray Davis, who signs the paychecks and told Young to trim payroll last offseason.

If Young is true to his word, he'll make many moves this offseason. But this is the move he should make first period

The Move Chris Young Should Make First

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker reacts to a call on the field. — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

During their end-of-season press conference, both Young and manager Skip Schumaker were asked about the coaching staff. This is what Schumaker said.

“I think we're going to be talking about that the next couple days,” Schumaker said. “You know, I'm proud of all the work they put in, very grateful for them. But I think that's the discussion that we're going to have in the next couple days.”

It's not unusual for a team that misses the playoffs to re-evaluate the coaching staff. Based on the team's performance, the first thing the Rangers must do is remake the hitting room.

Justin Viele was promoted to lead hitting coach last offseason. He was part of former offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker’s staff and remained with the Rangers after Ecker was fired in 2025. To support him the Rangers hired former Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron and Eric Dorton. This was Viele’s first year in the lead chair.

Offense was a failure for the Rangers in 2025. Texas was counting on Viele to make a significant impact. The Rangers won one fewer game than a year ago and the improvement as a team was marginal.

In 2025 the Rangers slashed .234/.302/.381 with 175 home runs and 658 RBI. In 2026 the lineup slashed .317/.396/.713 with 183 home runs and 649 RBI. The runs scored were practically the same, too — 684 in 2025 and 673 in 2026.

If this were a younger team or a rebuilding team that might be a good first step. But this was a veteran team, one that three years ago was among the best hitting teams in baseball. Young said last week this team isn't retooling. It's reshuffling. It's also seeking to get younger and more athletic.

If Young is interested in boosting this team's overall offensive profile, he needs a hitting coach that can match that energy. If he believes the issue is the players, then he needs to remove those that are standing in the way of improvement. But based on a year over year comparison, little changed with Viele in the lead chair.

Young wants to compete and he wants to compete now. He's not interested in rebuilding. To do that, he needs an experienced voice as the lead hitting coach and one that has no connection to the past three years of Rangers baseball. If there's a first move to make this offseason, it's the change out hitting coaches.

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