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It's not even Memorial Day, but the Rangers have seen enough. Over the weekend, the Rangers' front office, much to the delight of the Houston Astros and their fanbase, made a couple moves that signal sheer panic. The Rangers relieved offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker — didn't realize the Bruce Bochy's club was playing football nowadays — of his duties, and also placed World Series champion Leody Taveras on outright waivers.
If you haven't been paying attention, the Rangers' vaunted 2025 roster looks more like the Seattle Mariners of late. Texas' pitching staff, led by Tyler Mahle, has been lights out, but their hitting has been stagnant to put it kindly. The Rangers (3.44) are fourth in the American League in ERA, just behind the Astros. But Texas' .644 OPS is barely ahead of the last-place Chicago White Sox.
Ecker was hired as the Rangers' offensive coordinator in 2022 and was originally part of Chris Woodward's coaching staff. Bochy was hired the following season and retained the entire staff. Ecker received all the glory in 2023 when Texas won the World Series thanks to a power-packed offensive performance, but it would seem that he's now shouldering all the blame while the Rangers' bat struggle to find their groove in the early going. As the old saying goes, "You can't fire the players."
But perhaps you can hire them — at least that's the route the Rangers are going anyway. After parting with Ecker over the weekend, Texas hired former All-Star Bret Boone as their new hitting coach on Monday. Boone, whose brother Aaron is the manager of the New York Yankees, retired from baseball in 2006 and most recently was the host of a podcast. Good luck, Bret.
Astros fans are all smiles after Rangers hit panic button, firing Donnie Ecker and dismiss Leody Taveras
Taveras won't be in Arlington for much longer either. After being placed on outright waivers, the Astros' AL West foe is hoping some desperate team takes a flier on the speedy outfielder. But is any team really that desperate? Taveras has wheels and plays above-average defense at a premium position, but that's about where the accolades end.
Rangers outfielder Leodys Taveras on outright waivers, sources tell @TheAthletic. Any team that claimed him would assume balance of $4.75M salary.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 4, 2025
Taveras has never been much a hitter, but his numbers have taken quite the dip the past two seasons. After hitting .266/.312/.421 in 2023, Taveras has posted a .231/.285/.351 slash line with an 83 OPS+ over his last 181 games.
Taveras is under team control through 2027, but any team that claims the outfielder off waivers will have to pony up. Taveras is owed $4.75 million this season, and will be due an annual increase the next two seasons. With the Rangers looking to move on from Taveras, it wouldn't be surprising to see former rookie sensation Evan Carter called up from Triple-A Round Rock.