Chris Woodward Fired as Rangers Manager After 3-Plus Seasons with Team

The Texas Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward on Monday amid a disappointing season.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News initially reported the news.

Texas is coming off back-to-back wins against the Seattle Mariners, but it entered Monday with a 51-63 record that puts it 9.5 games out of the final wild-card spot in the American League.

The team is just 10-14 since the All-Star break.

In three-and-a-half seasons with the Rangers, Woodward had a 211-287 record with zero years over .500.

Woodward spent 12 seasons in the majors as a player, including seven with the Toronto Blue Jays, excelling as a utility player in the field who lined up at seven different positions.

The 46-year-old quickly entered the coaching ranks after retiring in 2012, serving as an infield coach with the Miami Marlins before becoming the Los Angeles Dodgers' third-base coach. He was hired as the Texas manager after the 2018 season, taking over a team that went just 67-95 the previous year.

There were slight improvements in 2019, but the team still couldn't get over the hump toward playoff contention.

Even after finishing 60-102 in 2021, the Rangers gave Woodward a contract extension through 2023.

"He is the leader on and off field the field, in the way he goes about pushing the group and consistency pushing that message throughout the organization," president of baseball operations Jon Daniels told reporters last November. "I just feel really strongly about him and how he goes about his business and who he is as a person."

It now seems the patience has worn out after another poor start in 2022.

The Rangers have invested heavily in free agency, adding Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and others, but now they need a new manager to get the most out of the roster in 2023 and beyond.