Texas Rangers: Why extending Jon Daniels was the right move

It wasn’t a popular choice, but the Texas Rangers extended the contract of General Manager Jon Daniels last week. Despite the team’s downward trend, the extension was the right move.

The Texas Rangers inked General Manager Jon Daniels to a multi-year extension just over a week ago. Daniels was promoted to the GM role back in 2006 at the age of 28. He was the youngest at his position in all of MLB at the time. 12 years later, his leash has been extended, quite controversially, I must add.

Texas is in the midst of a very poor season, currently standing dead last in the American League West with a 27-43 record. By no means were the Rangers labeled a World Series contender heading into the 2018 season; however, they were expected to be somewhat competitive. Two and a half months in and the mindset has transitioned from “let’s see what happens” to “time for a full-on rebuild”. The current mindset does not sit well with Texas Rangers fans.

With that said, fans have the tendency to react primarily to the present. But it is important to look at the entire body of work of a General Manager before calling for his job or venting about a mindless extension. I’m here to defend Jon Daniels’ past and to speak highly of his future. Why?