So far this off-season, the Texas Rangers have made changes to the 2013 staff in order to build upon the disappointing end to the 2012 season and maximize 40-man Roster’s talent. The best move is the fact that the Rangers have kept pitching coach Mike Maddux for another year, and the second best move will be the hire of Dave Magadan as the hitting coach to replace Scott Coolbaugh. The final move has been flip flopping base coaches, with Dave Anderson moving to First and Gary Pettis going to Third.
Developing Hitters will be Magadan’s Task for 2013
The Rangers weren’t actively pursuing a new hitting coach, but when Magadan became available from the Red Sox, Daniels had to make the move; Coolbaugh will remain in the organization, but after the team saw a hitting slump in the second half of the season and the young talent itching to make the majors, a change will be a welcome improvement.
While in Boston, Magadan was instrumental in developing Will Middlebrooks, Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury. With the likes of Profar, Olt and Martin becoming a part of the Rangers lineup in 2013 and possibly having to replace the power of Hamilton and Napoli, the team will need some help.
The Rangers would be happy to bring some consistency to the lineup with Young having a down year in 2012 and possibly near the end of his career, Cruz always being hit or miss but will a ton of potential, and Soto needing to improve his average.
Crafting a Bullpen and Keeping Starters Consistent will be Maddux’s Main Job
With the possibility of losing Adams, Uehara, Feldman & Tateyma, and with Ogando likely moving to the starting rotation, Maddux will have to develop a new look bullpen with Ross and Nathan being the main components. Another thing which Maddux will have to keep a watchful eye on Lewis and Feliz as they hope to make it back from injury by the All-Star Break.
The rotation will be strong with Darvish and Harrison at the front, Holland and Ogando in back of the rotation, and either a free agent being added or a rookie of Perez or Grimm as the 5th starter, plus the reinforcement of Lewis and possibly of Feliz returning at mid-season.
Maddux will have a lot of young pieces to work with and will hope that Scheppers, Kirkman & Font can fully contribute to 2013 campaign and there could be a surprise rookie performance much like Ross in 2012.
Pettis & Anderson Make a Switch for Base Running
After a down year on the base path’s with steals down and caught stealing up, Washington made the move of putting Pettis at Third in order to help use his experience on the base paths to guide the runners as the Rangers look to take advantage of the Rangers speed. With Profar, Martin, Gentry, Murphy, Andrus and Kinlser’s speed, the Rangers hope to force other teams to make errors as they take bases.
The coaching changes while subtle may have large impacts as the Rangers finally hope to make a turn as champions. Using the Giants and Cardinals, the Rangers will hope to make improvements despite the fact that they may be losing their biggest bat and both the Angels and A’s are making improvements and changes.
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