The Rangers announced Monday that they have hired former Major League Bret Boone as their new batting coach. The three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Champion will take over as the highest voice-leading Rangers batsman. Offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker was fired yesterday. According to rangerstoday.com’s Jeff Wilson, Boone’s deal runs through the 2025 season. The team will reevaluate at that time.
In other ranger news, Baseball Operations president Chris Young announced to the team’s beat today that they plan to recall outfielders Evan Carter Starting with Triple-A Round Rock, against the Red Sox in tomorrow’s series opener (via link to the Dallas Morning News Evan Grant).
“You never know where life is going to take you,” Boone said in announcing the news on his podcast (video clip). “And the longer I live on Earth, I learnt. Michael Younghe is with the Texas Rangers. We just started talking and we had a 10-minute conversation. …I got home and the phone rang, that’s [Rangers manager] Bruce Bochy. ”
Boone continued to joke that he thought his former manager and a longtime friend, Bochy, called for a reappearance on Boone’s podcast. Bochy runs the possibility of Boone taking the coaching position and tells him to think about it. Boone explained that he had a conversation with his wife and loved ones but decided he would accept the position “soon.”
Boone continued: “If there is one person going back to the field – it’s the first time in a long time, Bruce Bochy is ranked No. 1 on my list.”
Boone, 56, will be responsible for helping change one of the most disappointing crimes of the sport. Rangers have become a bad .228/.285/.359 hit line. The resulting 83 WRC+ (which indicates that their average at unit is 17% worse than the average) ranks 25th in the major. Texas batsman ranked 29th in 113 scoring, 25th in average shooting percentage, 28th in OBP and 25th in playing percentages. They also have a second poor walking rate on any team professional.
This is the second straight season for the Rangers to struggle as a group. Last year, after a season, in 2023, 2024, the best offense in the 2024 Fight against Fastball, the front office overhauled the lineup. Nathaniel Low Being traded to the nationals. Jake Burger It was obtained from marlins. Texas Signature Joc Pederson A two-year contract was reached. Midfielder Leody Taveras The role that was supposed to be pushed to the bench, but the injury opened up a more consistent game time for him.
The result was obviously not what the team had imagined. Hamburger was recently selected as Triple-A. Taveras is completely exempt. Pederson Negative WRC+ Mark (-4, indicating he is 104% worse than the average batsman). Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia Dismal offensive numbers were also released during regular game time.
Boone isn’t the first new sound recently installed by Rangers. Ecker was fired after three years of work, but Justin Viele was hired in the winter with the Giants to take a new horizon. He and Boone will work with Seth Conner, who has been an assistant coach since 2022 to help turn things around in order to win the fourth-place club in Texas so far 17-18, four games for the division-leading Mariners.
As Young announced, Boone isn’t the only change worth noting. Carter will appear from Triple-A tomorrow and move toward an outstanding outfield role. He was the catalyst for the Rangers’ 2023 World Race Run, holding on to 0.300/.417/.500 in 23 games with a 0.306/.413/.645 slash in the second half of this year and performed well in the playoffs. However, a rear injury ruined Carter’s 2024 season. He cut only .188/.272/.361 in 162 Major League Baseball games and has been on the injured roster for most of the season.
Carter is still only 22 years old and has performed better at Round Rock this year, but still hasn’t regained the 2023 form. The former second round draft pick (2020) reached .221/.333/.416 in Triple-A this season. He hit three home runs, brushed six bags and took a walk in 14.4% of his plate appearances, but also had a strikeout rate of 25.6% in 90 laps on the plate. This is not the most encouraging triple A production, but given the Taveras’ .241/.259/.342 line in the 82 disk appearance, the standard to be cleared is low.
