Texas Rangers: Why extending Jon Daniels was the right move

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ARLINGTON, TX – OCTOBER 5: General Manager Jon Daniels of the Texas Rangers speaks with members of the press before the American League Wild Card game against the Baltimore Orioles on October 5, 2012 at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /

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?

ARLINGTON, TX – AUGUST 16: Elvis Andrus #1 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Adrian Beltre #29 of the Texas Rangers after hitting a solo home run against the Detroit Tigers in the bottom of the fifth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on August 16, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

2010 World Series Appearance

Keep in mind, Jon Daniels did not take over as GM for the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers. Rather, he took over for an organization that had not experienced any noteworthy success since the turn of the century. Also, for a franchise that had never been to the World Series.

Per Baseball America, the Rangers had the 16th ranked farm system in ’06, the year Jon Daniels took reign. Thus, Daniels did not step in at a time in which a bunch of talent was emerging. Texas Rangers that saw consistent playing time in 2006 included Mark Derosa, Gary Mathews Jr., Kevin Millwood, Brad Wilkerson, and Carlos Lee. Texas also had R.A. Dickey, the non-knuckle ball version. The team finished that season with an 80-82 record.

It was just four years later that the Texas Rangers went to their first ever World Series. Key players in the 2010 World Series run were Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Derek Holland and Cliff Lee. Hamilton was acquired via trade in 2007, Guerrero signed as a free agent in the 2010 offseason and Holland was drafted in 2006. Lastly, and most importantly to the success of the 2010 season, Cliff Lee was acquired at the trade deadline in exchange for Justin Smoak and additional prospects.

2011 World Series

2010 was a pleasant surprise. Just getting to the final dance was good enough. 2011, however, was operated with the pure intention to win it all. The Texas Rangers didn’t lose much between the two seasons. Cliff Lee did sign elsewhere in the 2011 offseason, but the Rangers staff more than held up without him.

The key additions were Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli. Each contributed beyond imagination on the field and each established himself as a leader for a team that already had outstanding leadership.

I don’t want to speak too much about the 2011 season as we all know how it ended. Heartbreak aside, that was an unbelievably talented team that was probably the better team in the World Series matchup.

2011 was the greatest season in franchise history and Jon Daniels deserves a ton of credit for it. Two World Series appearances in two years for a team that had never been to one prior. How many GMs have helped guide their team to two in two years? Or even two in 12 years?

Ask yourself two more questions…what if the Rangers won one of those World Series? How would your current opinion of Jon Daniels change?

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 26: Cole Hamels (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

Trade Reviews

Ryan Dempster trade

2012: Rangers received Ryan Dempster; gave up P Kyle Hendricks and 3B Christian Villanueva

Now, before you get mad about the current success of Hendricks and Villanueva, recall that Dempster went 7-3 for the Rangers in 12 starts. Prior to arriving in Texas that season, he had a 2.25 ERA with the Chicago Cubs.

As the prospects played out, Villanueva did not have any big league success really until this year. It’s difficult to project six years out. Kyle Hendricks, on the other hand, is the exact pitcher that the Texas Rangers could have really used over the last few years.

Grade: B (you have to consider the Rangers’ need to acquire a quality starting pitcher to boost playoff/World Series chances)

Matt Garza trade

2013: Rangers received SP Matt Garza; gave up 3B Mike Olt, P Justin Grimm, and P C.J. Edwards

More fun with the Cubs. Mike Olt turned out to be a major bust, and he was the biggest name on the way out in that trade. Grimm and Edwards did win a ring with the Cubbies in 2016. Each contributed in decent fashion out of the bullpen in the 2016 season. Both are still quality relievers in MLB, but it’s not the end of the world from the Rangers’ perspective.

Matt Garza had very average results in his brief time with Texas. The Rangers did not make the playoffs in 2013; therefore, the deal was essentially a waste.

Grade: B- (Once again, the trade was meant to boost playoff chances. It did not work out, but it seemed like an okay trade when it happened.)

Cole Hamels trade

2015: Rangers received Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman; gave up C Jorge Alfaro, OF Nick Williams, P Jake Thompson, P Alec Asher, P Jerad Eickhoff, P Matt Harrison

The Philadelphia Phillies are a much improved ball club since 2015. However, of the prospects they received in the deal with the Rangers, Nick Williams is the only one that appears to have major upside. Alfaro is outstanding defensively, but he’ll likely never be much of an offensive threat. Thompson, Asher and Eickhoff have each earned big league time, though, none have done anything spectacular.

Texas hasn’t had a ton of playoff success since acquiring Hamels and Diekman, but that doesn’t mean they’ve done a poor job. Actually, both have been exactly what the organization had hoped they would be. Hamels has been the ace of staff and Diekman has been a weapon out of the pen from the left side.

Grade: B+

Carlos Beltran trade

2016: Rangers received Carlos Beltran; gave up P Dillon Tate, P Eric Swanson, P Nick Green

The Texas Rangers felt they needed another bat if they wanted to truly contend in 2016. They acquired Beltran, who had been having a tremendous season with the New York Yankees prior to coming over. He did alright with the Rangers; however, the team was swept in an ugly ALDS against the Toronto Blue Jays that season.

Dillon Tate was their first round draft pick in 2015. He is already pitching at the Double-A level with the Yankees. He is a dominant pitcher that Texas may very well regret trading a few years down the road.

Grade: C

Jonathan Lucroy trade

2016: Rangers received Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress; gave up OF Lewis Brinson and P Luis Ortiz

Brinson and Ortiz were two of the top prospects in the Texas Rangers organization. Is a catcher really ever worth that much? Lucroy did very well in the closing months of the 2016 season, but he did not perform well in 2017. Texas traded him away to Colorado a year after acquiring him. His stay was much too short and much too underwhelming for what was given up. Not to mention, Jeffress is no longer with the Rangers either.

Brinson is uber-talented and Ortiz will surely turn out to be a middle of the rotation starter in MLB in the coming years.

Grade: D

ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 27: Josh Hamilton, outfielder for the Texas Rangers, and Jon Daniels, Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, talk with the media at Globe Life Park on April 27, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. Hamilton was acquired from the Los Angels in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Jon Daniels has earned another go at it

It’s safe to say Jon Daniels got a little too trigger happy in the following years after the back-to-back World Series appearances. His eyes got real big and that led to short-term acquisitions and, as a result, he shipped away an absurd amount of young arms. Hence, the crazy number of pitchers the Texas Rangers drafted just a week ago.