The Rangers have officially named Skip Schumaker their new manager. The 2023 NL Manager of the Year signed a four-year contract to become the 21st full-time skipper in franchise history. Schumakers hiring comes just four days after the team announced that future Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy would not be back for a fourth season. We are thrilled to announce this promotion and have Skip leading this club in the dugout, president of baseball operations Chris Young said in a pre s release. Over his past year as a senior advisor to our baseball operations group, Skip has proven to be driven, pa sionate and thorough in everything he does. He has a winning spirit and energy, and we are fortunate that someone so highly regarded in the industry has agreed to become our manager . The team also released a brief statement from Schumaker himself. I am honored and excited for this opportunity to manage the Rangers, he said. While I attained a good understanding of the organization through my front office role this past season, the conversations with Chris Young, (general manager) Ro s Fenstermaker, and others this week have only intensified my interest in this opportunity. I cant wait to begin the work for 2026. This move has been telegraphed for almost a year. As mentioned in the clubs announcement, Schumaker joined the Texas organization last November as a senior advisor. That came a few weeks after he stepped down as manager of the Marlins after two seasons. It immediately raised speculation that Schumaker would be the succe sor whenever the 70-year-old Bochy decided to go in a different direction. The rapidity of the hiring confirms this was the preferred outcome. Young told reporters this morning the club was not speaking with any candidates outside the organization (relayed by ). It was only a matter of days for the team to finalize a contract that gets Schumaker back in the dugout. A utility infielder during his playing career, Schumaker was a longtime role player for the Cardinals. He began his coaching days in San Diego, then returned to St. Louis as Oli Marmols bench coach for the 2022 season. Schumaker got his first managerial opportunity with the Marlins one year later. He signed a two-year deal with a club option for the Dwight Evans Jersey 25 campaign to lead what was viewed as a rebuilding Miami team. The Fish outperformed expectations in 2023, winning 84 games and snagging a Wild Card spot. Unsatisfied with the teams player development pipeline, owner Bruce Sherman made a change atop the front office at years end. Peter Bendix was brought in as president of baseball operations. General manager Kim Ng stepped down rather than work as the #2 executive after leading the front office for the preceding three seasons. Bendix was unconvinced that Miamis winning season really opened a contention window. Theyd gotten to the playoffs despite being outscored by 57 runs. The Phillies comfortably swept them out of the first round. Ownership certainly wasnt going to approve significant free agent spending. As Bendix geared up for the teams latest rebuild, the Marlins agreed to void their option on Schumakers contract. He managed out a 100-lo s season in 2024 and confirmed the long-apparent news that he would not be back for a third year in South Florida as soon as the season ended. The sour finish has not detracted from Schumakers reputation as one of the sports top young managers. It doesnt appear as though he seriously pursued a position last offseason. He was loosely tied to the White Sox vacancy that eventually went to Will Venable ironically, the previous presumed succe sor to Bochy in Arlington but decided to spend a season in the Texas front office while keeping his options open for 2026. Schumaker steps into a dugout that might be in the midst of its own youth movement. The Rangers have disappointed in each of the past two seasons after winning the World Series during Bochys first year. The franchise has dealt with revenue lo ses related to the collapse of its local broadcast contract, leading to what is expected to be a reduced payroll. In announcing Bochys departure, Young told reporters the club was dealing with and would place more emphasis on development of young players. A roster shakeup was nece sary anyhow. Their veteran lineup simply hasnt been good enough over the past two seasons. Itd be a surprise if at least one or two of , , and werent traded or non-tendered. Texas still has four huge contracts on the books for , , and . Theyll be saddled with $18.5MM salary when he inevitably exercises his player option. Trading any of deGrom, Eovaldi or Seager would signify a greater teardown than seems likely. Theyd need to eat a lot of the remaining three years and $72MM on Semiens contract to find any interest, and Pederson stands a better chance of being released than traded. Theres a good chance all five of those players are back, but there should be significant turnover among their group of arbitration-eligible hitters. A 1-2 punch of deGrom and Eovaldi may alone be enough to keep them in the playoff hunt next year if both aces can stay healthy. Theyll need more foundational lineup pieces around Seager, , and eventually top prospect if theyre to have consistent succe s throughout the Schumaker era. There are now seven open or uncertain managerial positions around the game. The Giants and Twins fired Bob Melvin and Rocco Baldelli, respectively, at seasons end. The Angels announced they were not exercising Ron Washingtons club option for 2026, nor would they bring back interim skipper Ray Montgomery. Brian Snitker retired after leading the Braves for nine and a half seasons. The Nationals (Miguel Cairo), Rockies (Warren Schaeffer) and Orioles (Tony Mansolino) ended the year with interim managers after midseason firings. None of those teams have announced whether their interim candidates will get the position on a full-time basis. Image courtesy of Orlando Ramirez, USA Today Sports. Joely Rodriguez Jersey