Texas Rangers' biggest contract extension candidate is sitting in the front office

The Texas Rangers are playing in their 64th season this year and that history has been marred by many losing campaigns — in fact 41 of the previous 63 years resulted in the team seeing their record below .500. They didn't capture their first championship until 2023. 

Chris Young took the job as general manager in December of 2020 and had the unenviable task of leading a team coming off of four straight losing seasons (two of which featured last-place finishes American League West) in a brand new expensive stadium after a COVID-shortened year. 

Texas Rangers need to make Chris Young a long-term fixture

Prior to the start of the 2021 season, Young traded fan-favorite shortstop Elvis Andrus in a deal that landed the Rangers Khris Davis and prospect Jonah Heim. He also made a move that many questioned at the time when he traded away pretty significant prospect capital for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. After another dismal season, Young backed up the Brinks truck to bring in Corey Seager and Marcus Semien for a combined 17 years and $500 million.

Not a bad first 365 days at the helm.

Obviously, Lowe, Heim, Seager, and Semien played a pivotal role in the Rangers unlikely World Series run in 2023, but he wasn’t done. Young signed Nathan Eovaldi prior to the 2023 season and traded for Jordan Montgomery midway through the year, both of whom would go on to be significant contributors to that championship as well.

If that ability to build a roster wasn't enough, he’s done it while building (and keeping) a moderately decent farm along the way, as five of the Rangers six top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, were all signed under his reign.

What Young has done in just a few years with this roster and this franchise merit a contract extension that would make him one of the highest-paid executives in baseball, and honestly it still probably wouldn’t be enough because he's done for this team something that no other executive ever could: Win.