Source: Wakamatsu added to Rangers’ staff as bench coach

Don Wakamatsu will rejoin the Texas Rangers as their bench coach, a role he held from 2003-2006 under manager Buck Showalter, and Steve Buechele will become the club’s first-base coach, according to a source with knowledge of the Rangers’ plans.

An announcement is expected Friday.

Wakamatsu, who also served as third-base coach in 2007 under manager Ron Washington, has been the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals since 2014, going to two World Series. He is a Tarrant County resident.

Buechele had been manager Jeff Banister’s bench coach since 2015. The Rangers created a vacancy in the first-base box when they moved Hector Ortiz to bullpen coach, replacing Brad Holman. Holman’s was the only member of the 2017 coaching staff who wasn’t retained.

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Source: Wakamatsu added to Rangers’ staff as bench coach."