The Rangers introduced that offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker has been fired after three-plus seasons in his position. No substitute was named, because the press launch asserting the transfer acknowledged that “the construction of the membership’s hitting employees is anticipated to be addressed within the coming days.”
“After prolonged discussions and deliberations, we really feel now could be the suitable time to supply our hitters with a brand new voice as we pursue objectives of successful the division and reaching the postseason,” Texas president of baseball operations Chris Younger mentioned within the press launch. “We’re extraordinarily grateful to Donnie for all that he has achieved right here with the Rangers, together with his position within the membership’s 2023 World Collection championship. We want him the most effective.”
The information comes within the aftermath of the Rangers’ 8-1 win over the Mariners Sunday, which marked simply the third time this season that Texas had scored eight or extra runs in a recreation. The Rangers entered Sunday’s motion ranked close to the underside of the league in most offensive classes and carried a team-wide .224/.280/.357 slash line and 82 wRC+ previous to Sunday’s breakout towards Seattle.
Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia are two of probably the most distinguished under-performing regulars, whereas offseason signing Joc Pederson has a hard-to-fathom 2 wRC+ by way of his first 91 plate appearances in a Rangers uniform. Infielder Jake Burger was one other offseason pickup who has struggled badly, and Texas already optioned him to Triple-A earlier this week. Leody Taveras has normally been a glove-first participant anyway, however the Rangers selected to place the outfielder on outright waivers right now.
These are a number of of the key weak hyperlinks that undermined a number of scorching begins throughout the lineup (i.e. Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, Josh Smith, Jonah Heim), and extra pressingly, a implausible early exhibiting from the Texas rotation. Even with so little from the offense, the Rangers have nonetheless managed a good 18-18 file thanks largely to the excellent beginning pitching.
As at all times, it’s unfair to level the finger at one explicit coach (or coordinator, on this case) for a crew’s efficiency. As Younger famous in his personal assertion, criticism of Ecker’s work must also acknowledge the truth that the Rangers have been an offensive powerhouse lower than two years in the past when Texas gained the primary World Collection title in franchise historical past. That mentioned, the 2024 Rangers adopted up that championship season with a 78-84 file. Inconsistent pitching was the largest situation final 12 months, but the offense additionally slumped to a 95 wRC+, rating twenty second of 30 groups.
Ecker is barely 39 years previous, but he already has a prolonged resume with a number of groups. He was a minor league hitting coach with varied Cardinals and Angels associates from 2015-18, and he then moved to the large leagues because the Reds’ assistant hitting coach for the 2019 season. Ecker was certainly one of two hitting coaches employed by the Giants in 2020-21 earlier than he got here to Texas as each a bench coach and the “offensive coordinator” position that targeted on shaping the crew’s general offensive philosophy.
The bench coach duties modified this previous offseason, as Ecker grew to become simply the offensive coordinator when Luis Urueta was employed because the Rangers’ new bench coach. Will Venable had beforehand been the Rangers’ affiliate supervisor earlier than he was employed to handle the White Sox, so Urueta has apparently taken over the chief lieutenant position behind supervisor Bruce Bochy. Texas additionally made a change at hitting coach, as Justin Viele was employed whereas assistant hitting coach Seth Conner was retained.
As famous by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, this marks the primary time in Bochy’s lengthy managerial profession that certainly one of his coaches has ever been changed throughout a season. Generally, in-season teaching modifications have turn out to be comparatively rarer all through baseball, since one explicit coach is only one of a number of voices contributing to what has turn out to be an more and more organization-wide method to game-planning and preparation.
In probably the most fundamental sense {that a} teaching change can shake a crew up, outcomes have been combined through the years. For each occasion the place a crew is sparked by a change (i.e. the Mariners heating up after Dan Wilson was employed as supervisor and Edgar Martinez was employed as hitting coach final August), you’ll be able to cite one other the place a staffing change didn’t get a membership again on observe.
Since it is usually simply Could 4, it may be argued that we’re additionally nonetheless in “gradual begin” territory, with nonetheless a comparatively small pattern dimension of proof that one thing is drastically fallacious with the Texas offense. In fact, Ecker’s dismissal clearly means the Rangers didn’t really feel the identical method, given the abrupt and considerably shocking nature of the firing. It will likely be intriguing to see how the crew responds to the change, and whether or not or not the Rangers fill Ecker’s position from throughout the group or with a brand new rent.
