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Could Change in Schumaker's Coaching Staff Give Rangers Boost in 2027?
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- Could Change in Schumaker's Coaching Staff Give Rangers Boost in 2027?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Less than 24 hours after the Texas Rangers finished the 2026 season with an 80-82 record and missed the playoffs for the third straight season, president of baseball operations Chris Young talked about the team's lack of toughness and grit at times during the year.
Sitting to his right was Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, who just completed his first season at the helm of a team whose suggested lack of resilience appeared to come out most when on the road and playing against teams that, in theory, they should have beaten.
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As the offseason and preparations for the 2027 season are now underway, we know that Schumaker will be back for a second season as manager, and he will certainly be involved in helping Young and the Texas front office figure out how to improve the team's overall tenacity.
Season might bring reset for Rangers
Upon the season's end, the Rangers obviously had not had conversations about what Schumaker's staff will look like in 2027, but with the World Series kicking off later this week and the offseason heading into full gear shortly after the conclusion of the Fall Classic, you'd have to figure the dominoes of next season's coaching staff could begin to fall soon.
Young acknowledged that, to an extent, he can try to address the team's toughness and grit through roster construction, but at the same time, those intangibles aren't a specific stat that can be fixed solely by bringing in players with certain strengths.
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Perhaps a change in Schumaker's coaching staff could help provide more of those intangibles that the Rangers front office felt they were lacking in 2026.
It's an interesting spot for Texas to be in given that the coaching staff was so new last season. On the bases, Travis Jankowski served on a major-league staff for the first time, and Corey Ragsdale spent his first season as a third base coach. At the same time, Jordan Tiegs saw his first season in charge of a pitching staff, which took a step backwards from their historic 2025 season.
Certainly, there could be a reason to want to let those guys spend more than just the little time they have so far in their respective roles. But, at the same time, it's not hard to see a world in which a coaching staff change helps shift the fortitude of the team.
Whatever the Rangers decide to do, we could know soon, and after that, the rest of the potentially crazy offseason can play out .
