Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels insisted on holding interviews for the vacant manager position even though bench coach Tim Bogar filled in as interim manager in September and finished with a 14-8 record. Bogar was passed up for the job last week and will now leave Texas.
Before the regular season ended and even a little after, reports surfaced that Bogar was the "runaway favorite" to land the Rangers' manager job. Daniels insisted on interviewing a number of candidates, including Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, Triple-A manager Steve Buechele, Puerto Rican league GM Alex Cora, Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo, White Sox third-base coach Joe McEwing, Indians bullpen coach Kevin Cash, and Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister (who he ultimately hired).
Although Banister has extensive coaching experience, so does Bogar, and he was likely upset he was passed up for a job he already proved he could handle. The Rangers were the worst team in baseball heading into the final month of the season with a 53-84 record and Bogar helped them avoid the embarrassment of finishing as the league's worst team. They finished 67-95 and climbed ahead of the Colorado Rockies (66-96) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (64-98). It's unknown what Bogar will do next, but he's spoken with Daniels and Banister and made it clear he will not return to Texas even though Daniels said he would welcome him back.
On top of replacing a bench coach, Texas will likely have to replace their hitting coach as well. Dave Magadan has been a hitting coach in the MLB since 2006, most recently with the Rangers. He was hired before the 2012 season to join Ron Washington's staff, but now with Washington gone and Banister in, Magadan was granted permission to speak with other teams about hitting coach vacancies. The Mets and Yankees have spoken with him so far, but the Yankees have backed out of the race and it looks like the Oakland Athletics may step in after they lost hitting coach Chili Davis to the Red Sox on Sunday.
A former major league player, Magadan finished his 16-year career with a .288 batting average and 1,197 hits. He spent seven seasons with the Mets and two with the Athletics, so he has ties to both of those organizations. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Magadan because his experience is well-respected throughout baseball.
