The Rangers announced that offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker has been fired after three-plus seasons in his role. No replacement was named, as the press release announcing the move stated that “the structure of the club’s hitting staff is expected to be addressed in the coming days.”
“After lengthy discussions and deliberations, we feel now is the appropriate time to provide our hitters with a new voice as we pursue goals of winning the division and reaching the postseason,” Texas president of baseball operations Chris Young said in the press release. “We are extremely grateful to Donnie for all that he has accomplished here with the Rangers, including his role in the club’s 2023 World Series championship. We wish him the best.”
The news comes in the aftermath of the Rangers’ 8-1 win over the Mariners today, which marked just the third time this season that Texas had scored eight or more runs in a game. The Rangers entered today’s action ranked near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, and carried a team-wide .224/.280/.357 slash line and 82 wRC+ prior to today’s breakout against Seattle.
Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia are two of the most prominent under-performing regulars, while offseason signing Joc Pederson has a hard-to-fathom 2 wRC+ through his first 91 plate appearances in a Rangers uniform. Infielder Jake Burger was another offseason pickup who has struggled badly, and Texas already optioned him to Triple-A earlier this week.
These are a few of the major weak links that undermined a few hot starts within the lineup (i.e. Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, Josh Smith, Jonah Heim), and more pressingly, a fantastic early showing from the Texas rotation. Even with so little from the offense, the Rangers have still managed an even 18-18 record thanks in large part to the outstanding starting pitching.
As always, it is unfair to point the finger at one particular coach (or coordinator, in this case) for a team’s performance. As Young noted in his own statement, criticism of Ecker’s work should also acknowledge the fact that the Rangers were an offensive powerhouse less than two years ago when Texas won the first World Series title in franchise history. That said, the 2024 Rangers followed up that championship season with a 78-84 record. Inconsistent pitching was the biggest issue last year, yet the offense also slumped to a 95 wRC+, ranking 22nd of 30 teams.
More to come…
