The Rangers are expected to discuss this announcement at 2:45 p.m. Live video will appear at the top of this story.
After two decades with the team, the Texas Rangers say Jon Daniels has been relieved of his duties as President of Baseball Operations, effective immediately.
According to a statement from the team, managing partner and majority owner Ray Davis said Daniels was told his contract was not being renewed at the end of the season and that he was relieved of his duties effective immediately.
“Jon’s accomplishments in his 17 years running our baseball operations department have been numerous. He and his staff put together the best teams in this franchise’s history that resulted in five playoff appearances and two American League pennants between 2010 and 2016. His impact on the growth of our player development, scouting, and analytics groups has been immense. Jon has always had the best interests of the Rangers organization in mind on and off the field and in the community,” Davis said in a statement.
Daniels joined the Texas baseball operations department in 2002 and was appointed as the Rangers’ eighth General Manager on Oct. 4, 2005. He was promoted to President of Baseball Operations in March 2013.
The bottom line is we have not had a winning record since 2016 and for much of that time have not been competitive in the AL West Division
Ray Davis, majority owner
The team said in a news release Wednesday morning Executive Vice President & General Manager Chris Young will assume oversight of all aspects of the Rangers’ baseball operations department. Young was hired in December 2020 to work with Daniels and has been involved in all areas of the department since that time.
“Chris Young is one of the top young baseball executives in the business and in his 21 months on the job has brought welcome energy and new ideas to the organization. I am confident in Chris’ ability to lead our baseball operations with the goal of producing a consistent winner on the field.
Davis said he’s certain the team is headed in the right direction but that a change in leadership was needed.
Earlier this week, the team released manager Chris Woodward who was two games shy of his 500th game with the club and with a season remaining on his contract.
During Monday’s news conference addressing Woodward’s departure, Daniels was asked about his role in the team’s lack of recent success.
“As far as any personal accountability on my part, that’s something we’ll address down the line,’’ Daniels said.
