The Texas Rangers’ trophy cases are a desolate wasteland. Yes, there was the 2010 and 2011 American League Champions seasons. Yes, there were multiple American League West Pennants. Yes, they have been to the playoffs multiple times. However, there is still a missing piece that still stings most Texas Rangers fans to this day, need the fans be reminded of the one-strike-away World Series championship in 2011.
In many ways, we can thank Jon Daniels for leading this baseball organization to greatness since his hiring in 2006. Being a 28-year-old General Manager of a Major League Baseball team is an extraordinary accomplishment, especially considering how many young men in their late 20s are still climbing ladders to achieve a promotion today in any career. The building of this baseball club to relevancy started with him. With the hiring of Chris Young, however, things have begun to change in Arlington, TX.
With these new free agent signings over the past 2 offseasons by Chris Young, the Texas Rangers can now be looked to as a reputable organization for this decade, a reputation that was not present since 2016. Jon Daniels was finally let go of the President of Baseball Operations job this past August in what many writers and insiders were thinking was overdue, me included.
Look at what has happened since the American League Champion season in 2011. First, Daniels signs Yu Darvish; there was high expectations for him to be a championship caliber pitcher. In 2017, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodger in what was the final nail in the coffin to begin this rebuild. That signing did not work out. In the 2013 offseason, Daniels trades for Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo, trying to bolster a juggernaut offense for the next season. Three seasons later, Prince Fielder had to retire due to a career-ending neck injury and Shin-Soo Choo had not panned out as many would hope as an All-Star talent. Those transactions also didn’t work out. In 2015, Daniels trades a good chunk of prospects to acquire Cole Hamels; many saw this move as an all-in play to the World Series. He also hires Jeff Banister as a manager and reunites Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli, both 2010 and 2011 heroes respectively, to bring back the championship mojo to the ballclub. We saw them get bounced out in the first round in 2015 and 2016 by the Toronto Blue Jays, both times in an embarrassing fashion. Those moves then didn’t work out either. After firing Banister in 2018, Daniels hires Chris Woodward to ‘develop young talent in a rebuilding era.’ As of 2022, there had been very little signs of player development with their young talent and most of their prospects they traded for have not performed well in the major leagues. That move did not work out either.
When it came time to fire both Jon Daniels and Chris Woodward to clean house and start fresh, it needed to happen for Jon Daniels. Part of the reason that Chris Young is working out so well is that he relates to baseball players, being one himself as an All-Start pitcher and former Texas Ranger pitcher from Dallas, TX. Players immediately respect his vision for success and accomplishing the goal of a championship in Dallas/Fort Worth. He also seems to play nice with Ownership, lest we forget about Jon Daniels supposed power play with Nolan Ryan back in 2013, one that led to Mr. Ryan’s exile from the ballclub. That move was not forgotten amongst players like Ian Kinsler, a true Texas Rangers clubhouse leader. Many other players also took some swipes out the door at Daniels too (Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, CJ Wilson, etc.), must have been a great look for public perception amongst professionals in the league.
How Jon Daniels could have survived this long is still mind-boggling to me, however, one thing that is clear is that Chris Young has already hit the ground running with building a great ballclub. Just a taste of the acquisitions under his leadership includes Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jon Gray, Jacob DeGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney. Not bad for the 2nd offseason as a General Manager. While we have yet to see if this will pan out, one thing that is clear is that Chris Young is achieving what Jon Daniels has not for almost a decade, building a destination for free agents in Arlington, TX.