First domino falls as Rangers make a stunning change in the coaching staff

Despite the Texas Rangers winning the final game of their series against the Seattle Mariners 8-1 on Sunday, it’s clear that manager Bruce Bochy and President of Baseball Operations Chris Young are not content in just hoping everything has been fixed. Not long after the end of a series-salvaging game, the franchise announced it had fired offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker.

Ecker, who was in his fourth season with the Rangers, was the prime architect of offensive game-planning and instruction. That planning and instruction had helped the Rangers win the club’s first ever World Series in 2023 but the offense has taken significant steps backward in both 2024 and so far this season.

Rangers fire Donnie Ecker following offensive slide

The Texas Rangers were hoping to avoid a change in the coaching staff, especially since it’s a move Bruce Bochy has never made in his 28 years as a manager. Over the last few weeks the team has made shifts to the lineup.

That included taking Marcus Semien out of leadoff and Adolis Garcia out of the cleanup spot. Except for a few spurts here and there, it hasn’t worked and the Texas Rangers have continued to be one of the worst offenses in baseball.

It seems likely that the writing was on the wall for Donnie Ecker following what was supposed to be an offensive breakout in their 15-2 win over the Athletics. Since that “break out” the offense had scored a total of 3 runs and slashed .160/.216/.184/.400 entering Sunday’s potential breakout game.

Interestingly enough, it seems extremely unlikely that the Texas Rangers are going to stop with Ecker. This feels like the beginning of changes for a club that knows the season is officially on the brink, even if they were manage to avoid the sweep at the hands of the AL West leader.