Texas Rangers Reportedly Hiring Doug Mathis as New Bullpen Coach

The Texas Rangers are reportedly set to hire former pitcher Doug Mathis as their bullpen coach for the upcoming season replacing Oscar Marin.

After former bullpen coach Oscar Marin departed the organization to join the Pittsburgh Pirates as pitching coach, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that the Texas Rangers are set to hire Doug Mathis as a replacement.

Mathis, 36, is a former pitcher for the Rangers and was originally a 13th round draft pick by the club back in the 2005 Amateur Draft. Mathis pitched in three Major League seasons and all of his appearances came for the Rangers. Across the 2008-2010 seasons, Mathis made 45 appearances, predominantly in a relief role, and posted a 4.84 ERA.

Beyond his Major League service time, Mathis spent parts of 10 seasons in the minors where he made 201 appearances (164 starts) posting a 4.06 ERA. He also played a few seasons in other leagues including the KBO (Korea) and NPB (Japan). After Mathis retired from the game, he joined the Mariners organization as a pitching coach with the club’s Low-A affiliate. He then joined the Toronto Blue Jays as their Triple-A pitching coach for the 2019 season.

For the Rangers, the opportunity to bring in a guy to assist your big league relievers that himself spent time as a big league reliever could be beneficial. Additionally, Mathis has spent time with the organization as a player which should help relations with current players who will find themselves in similar situations.

Mathis joins a few coaching and front office changes this offseason for the organization most notably was the departure of Jayce Tingler. Tingler left his role as the Major League Player Development Field Coordinator for the Rangers following a decade within the organization to join the San Diego Padres as their new manager reuniting with former Texas assistant GM and current Padres GM AJ Preller.