Chris Woodward was officially named the new Texas Rangers manager on Saturday. He received a three-year contract that also includes a club option for the 2022 season.
“We are excited to welcome Chris Woodward and his family to the Texas Rangers,” Rangers president of baseball operations and general manager Jon Daniels said. “Chris brings high energy, outstanding leadership and communication skills, a strong knowledge of the game and its evolving strategies, and great integrity-attributes that we feel are vital for our next manager.
“We believe these traits will resonate with our players, our staff, and our fans. He has also been a big part of a very successful stretch in Los Angeles. We interviewed a number of strong candidates during an extensive interview process for our managerial role and believe we have found the right fit in Chris Woodward.
“We look forward to working with him and everyone on the baseball staff to develop and grow a culture that will lead to success for many years to come.”
Woodward spent the past three seasons working on Dave Roberts’ Los Angeles Dodgers staff as third base and infield coach. Prior to that, he was first base and infield coach for the Seattle Mariners during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Woodward began his coaching career with the Mariners in 2013 as a Minor League infield coordinator, and received a promotion to the Major League staff in 2013. Woodward’s managerial experience is comprised of leading New Zealand in the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualification tournament in Australia in 2016.
Speaking at an end-of-season press conference, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said the club anticipated all coaches returning in 2019. With Woodward’s departure, the Dodgers have now seen three members of Roberts’ staff depart in the past two years.
Last offseason, former Dodgers assistant hitting coach Tim Hyers was hired by the Boston Red Sox as hitting coach, and former bullpen coach Josh Bard joined Brett Boone’s New York Yankees staff as bench coach.
Woodward was among the candidates the Yankees interviewed for their managerial position but was not one of the finalists they selected from.
