Rangers fire manager Chris Woodward after big investments prove fruitless

The Texas Rangers announced on Aug. 15 that they have fired manager Chris Woodward after four seasons.

This past offseason, the Texas Rangers pushed their chips to the center of the table, indicating that they planned on making the postseason in 2022. That was evident after they doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, two of the top middle infielders in free agency. Surely this would be their year.

2022 has not been the Rangers’ year, as they are under .500 and well behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West entering Aug. 15. That very day, the Rangers officially announced that they have fired manager Chris Woodward after four years with the team.

Third base coach Tony Beasley will serve as the interim manager for the remainder of the season, per the team.

Rangers fire manager Chris Woodward after four seasons with team

The Rangers were in need of a manager after firing Jeff Banister in 2018. They looked to the Los Angeles Dodgers and hired Woodward, the team’s third base coach, as their new manager.

Since joining the team, the Rangers never held a winning record under Woodward. His first season was arguably his most successful, as the Rangers finished the year with a 78-84 to finish third in the division. But the following two years, Texas finished in last place.

This year was supposed to be the one where the Rangers catapult themselves into postseason contention. They did, after all, sign Seager to a 10-year, $325 million contract and Semien to a seven-year, $175 million deal.

Entering the day of Woodward’s firing, the Rangers were 53-61 and 23.0 games behind the Astros for first in the division. As for the Wild Card, they were 9.5 games back of the third and final Wild Card spot in the AL.

Overall, Woodward exits Texas with a 211-287 record.

With Woodward out, the Rangers prepare to find their next manager that can get the most out of the talent on their roster. Who that will be remains to be seen.