Why did the Rangers fire Chris Woodward? Failure to follow through on offseaso atlanta braves shirt near me n spending dooms Texas manager
August 15, 2022The Rangers entered 2022 with heightened expectations following the signings of high-profile free agents Corey Seag atlanta braves jersey kids boys er, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray.
The Chris Woodward-led squad seemed slated to vastly improve on its 60-102 record in 2021, potentially competing atop the AL West. With an expanded playoff field added, things were finally looking up for Texas after years of struggles.
That didn't quite happen. Although the Rangers are far better than they were this time last year, at 51-63, th Mike Trout Angels Jerseys ey sit 9.5 games out of a wild card spot coming out of a weekend that saw them take two of three from the Mariners.
Texas needed a change. And on Monday, it made one, firing Woodward in the middle of his fourth season at the helm and naming third base coach Tony Beasley interim manager through the end of the season. The move was atlanta braves jersey 13 first reported by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
Woodward ends his run in Texas with a 211-287 record (.424) and two last-place finishes in his three full seasons.
MORE: Why the Rangers took Kumar Rocker with the No. 3 pick in 2022 MLB Draft
The Sporting News details the factors that led to Woodward's departure, as well as potential next steps for the franchise.
Why did the Rangers fire Chris Woodward?
Woodward's dismissal appears to be closely linked to theMLB T-Shirts Rangers' failure to build on what was a stunning offseason. In signing Gray, Seager and Semien, Texas committed more than $500 million last offseason. That type of expenditure puts pressure on a team to succeed. And alDooney & Bourke though the Rangers hadn't posted a winning season since 2016, it seemed the team was on the precipice of something exciting in 2022.
Perception isn't always reality, though. And the reality of the Woodward-led Rangers was that they just were not very good. Texas started the season off on the wrong foot, going 7-14 in April. They haven't been able to recover, limping to a 51-63 record that has them 23 games back of the rival Astros in the AL WestMLB Pet Gear .
SemieMLB Small Jewelry n has struggled, posting a.693 OPS in 509 plate appearances. Gray (who is currently on the injured list) has been decent, while Seager has been good (131 OPS+). But the team just can't compete with the likes of the Astros or Mariners. For comparison, Texas is sitting a half game in front of the perpetually disappointing Angels.
To be fair to Woodward, the Rangers have been unlucky at points this year. Based on their Pythagorean formula, which manufactures a win-loss record based on how many runs a team has scored and given up in a season, Texas should be sitting at about .500.
The problem is, the Rangers have a woeful 6-24 record in one-run games. That isn't just bad, it's historically bad. According to ESPN's Stats and Information research, they are on pace for the second-worst winning percentage in one-run games since 1900.
MORE: Why Rangers icon Nolan Ryan isn't on Dallas' Mount Rushmore
Much of Texas' struggles come from the mound; outside of Martin Perez (140 OPS+) and Gray (102 OPS+), every member of the Rangers' starting rotation is performing at a below league-average level. That has amounted to a team ERA of 4.09 (10th-worst in MLB).
What's next for the Rangers?
For all of Texas' struggles in 2022 (and before), there's still a lot to like. Perez has been great, Seager has been consistent throughout the past few weeks, and the farm system is teeming with talent — namely former No. 2 overall pick Jack Leiter (No. 15 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline) and Josh Jung (No. 27 prospect in b atlanta braves jersey jones aseball, per MLB P atlanta braves batting practice jersey ipeline).
At their best, Seager and Semien are elite players with real MVP potential. If you can get them right and add the likes of Leiter and Jung to the fold, the prospects for the coming few years look a lot brighter, even with the Astros and Mariners looking poised to compete atop the AL West for years to come.