With Skip Schumaker Hired, Rangers Turn Attention to Coaching Staff

Mike Maddux, Dave Bush (assistant), Jordan Tiegs (bullpen)

Young heaped praise on the pitching coaches during his end-of-year press conference on Friday. Given that the Rangers led the Majors in ERA and had one of the best overall staffs in team history, it was well-deserved.

Young said the connection between the manager and the pitching coach was the most important on the staff. Maddux and Bochy had never worked together when he re-joined the organization in 2023, but they quickly built a rapport. He’s 64 years old and he has flirted with retirement.

In the pantheon of pitching coaches, Maddux could be considered among the elite of the past several decades, including Mel Stottlemyre, Dave Duncan and Leo Mazzone. Young appreciates how Maddux knows how to build pitchers psychologically as well as physically. He said he admires how Maddux knows the right thing to say to pitchers during games.

The long-time pitching coach will be Young’s first phone call now that Schumaker is hired. It will be incumbent on Schumaker to quickly get a gauge of how he and Maddux can work together. If Maddux returns, it’s almost certain Bush and Tiegs do, unless they’re offered the chance for promotions in other organizations.

Hitting Coaches

Bret Boone, Justin Viele, Seth Conner (assistant)

The approach to this room is unclear. Boone joined the organization in May after offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker was fired. Young pointed out the team’s batting numbers improved from June moving forward, but it wasn’t enough to reverse their awful start.

Boone had never coached Major League hitters before, and Bochy was instrumental in having him come on board. Young said on Friday that he and the baseball staff must determine how much of the swoon offensively the last two years is because of approach and because of players. That could determine what Young does with the hitting room.

He did make an interesting comment about coaching approach. He said he wants hitters working on multiple things this offseason as opposed to just one thing. Whoever he hires will adhere to that doctrine.

Other Coaches

Luis Urueta (bench), Corey Ragsdale (first base), Tony Beasley (third base), Brett Hayes (quality control), Bobby Wilson (catching), Chase Casali (bullpen catcher), Alejandro Martinez (bullpen coach).

Urueta is probably safe. He was on Schumaker’s staff in Miami and was interim manager when Schumaker left the team late in 2024. Urueta was fired after the season and was hired a month later by Texas to work under Bochy after Will Venable took the Chicago White Sox managerial job.

Ragsdale, Beasley and Wilson are well-respected in the organization and in the clubhouse. All of them have duties working with position players on defense. The Rangers’ defense was one of the best in baseball and set a franchise record for fielding percentage. It stands to reason they’ll return unless Schumaker wants to hire his own coaches for those spots.