To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Rangers named Skip Shumaker their next manager, replacing Bruce Bochy. It’s difficult replacing a legend. Just ask every third baseman the Rangers have run out since Adrian Beltre.

But at least Shumaker has managerial experience. Before Chris Young came on board, the Rangers were hiring inexperienced managers. It showed.

Shumaker was an outfielder and second baseman for eleven big league seasons, all in the National League, with Saint Louis mostly, then a season with Los Angeles and two with Cincinnati. He had no power (like the team he is inheriting), hitting only twenty-eight home runs in his career, but he was a scrappy player who made the most of his offensive talents (unlike the team he is inheriting).

Now his role is seeing if he can get the Rangers into the playoffs, something they have accomplished just once in nine seasons. It’s something he’s going to have to do with a much different team built with reportedly a much smaller payroll. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it isn’t necessary. The Rangers are in the fourth-largest market, owned by a billionaire who has seen his investment in the team skyrocket. If he wanted a perennial winner, he’d have one. The fact that the Rangers have made the playoffs once in nine year tells you how committed he is to winning. Billionaires get what they want. 

So, now it’s up to Shumaker, who managed the Miami Marlins in 2023 and 2024, winning the N.L. Manager of the Year award in ’23 for guiding the Marlins to the playoffs in his first season. Then ownership in Miami does what it aways does whenever it has a good team. It tore it down and sold off all the parts. 

So, after managing the Marlins to an 84-78 record in ’23, and seeing his team fall to 62-100 in ’24, he resigned, not happy with the direction the franchise was headed. He signed with the Rangers to be the heir apparent at the end of Bruce Bochy’s three-year contract. Unfortunately for Shumaker, he takes over a franchise that, in many ways, could be headed in a similar direction as the Marlins he left. Cheaper. This year’s Marlins did, however, win just two fewer games than this year’s Rangers. So, payroll isn’t an indicator of success. But neither is lack of payroll.

The forty-five-year-old native of California is stepping into somewhat of a rebuild. The major league team has so many holes to fill. The minor league system is ranked in the bottom five. 

It’s going to be an interesting offseason to be sure. In the tradition of Dallas general managers making shocking trades of superstars that started with Luca being traded away from the Mavs and then Parsons from the Cowboys, don’t be surprised if Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, or Jacob deGrom are dealt. One, two, or all three of them.

That’s Skip Shumaker’s worry now. Bruce Bochy didn’t want to deal with that. Why should he have?

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