The Texas Rangers will not be playing baseball in October this year. They missed the postseason last year, too, after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series in 2023 for the organization’s first championship.
The Rangers have one series remaining, a three-game set with the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. At 80-79, they need to win at least two of the games against Jose Ramirez and the Guardians to finish the season with a record above .500.
The biggest question of the offseason will be whether the following year’s club will have manager Bruce Bochy in the dugout. Bochy, 70, will see his three-year contract with the Rangers conclude after Sunday afternoon’s contest.
Bruce Bochy on Future With Rangers
As one of the more successful managers in Major League Baseball history, Bochy is uncertain about what the future holds. However, he’s not yet ready to discuss it.
“Season’s not over. It’s something we’ll talk about when the season’s over,” Bochy told reporters before Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, including Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press. “So I’m going to stick with that right now and see if we can win a couple of games here.”
With a career win-loss record of 2,251-2,264, Bochy ranks sixth all-time in managerial wins. The five managers with more wins than Bochy are Connie Mack (3,731), Tony La Russa (2,880), John McGraw (2,763), Bobby Cox (2,497), and Joe Torre (2,322). Torre’s New York Yankees swept Bochy’s San Diego Padres in the 1998 World Series.
Bochy was one of the driving forces in the San Francisco Giants‘ incredible run in the early 2010s, winning titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014. On paper, those Giants rosters were better than the current state of the Rangers. But with star shortstop Corey Seager and veteran ace Jacob deGrom, there’s no reason to believe the Rangers cannot return to contention in 2026.
Will Bochy be in the dugout in 2026?
Chris Young Talks What Will Drive Bruce Bochy’s Decision
Obviously, age is a driving factor in Bochy’s decision on a possible return to the Rangers next season. At 70, he is the second-oldest manager in MLB behind Ron Washington of the Los Angeles Angels.
Chris Young, the Rangers’ president of baseball operations, spoke with reporters, including Hawkins from the Associated Press, and said he and Bochy will have an open discussion after the season. Young is a former starting pitcher of 13 years in MLB, including two years with Texas from 2004-05.
“The two of us will sit down and talk about where things are, what happened this year, where we’re going,” Young said. “There’s things that I’m sure he’s going to want to know about the future of the team, and we’ll talk about it, like we did three years ago, and figure it out.”
If Bochy and the Rangers do not agree to a new contract, there should be plenty of suitors for the position.
According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, former Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is one of the leading candidates to take the helm next season, if Bochy decides to retire. Schumaker, a former Major League infielder, joined the Rangers as a senior advisor last November.
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