Here’s why Texas Rangers owner Ray Davis is still keeping the faith in Jon Daniels
The owner has spoken, and he said he is embarrassed.
Ray Davis, the co-chairman and general partner of the Texas Rangers, said that the 2020 season was not acceptable on the field, and he doesn’t have an explanation as to why.
That’s up to the baseball people, primarily general manager Jon Daniels and manager Chris Woodward, who constructed and oversaw a roster than went 22-38 and finished with the second-worst record in baseball.
It marked the Rangers’ fourth consecutive losing season, and might have been the most painful. The plan in 2017 was to build a winner for 2020 and the grand opening of Globe Life Field.
Now, the Rangers are left to enter a rebuild mode.
Ordinarily, that might sound like trouble for the GM and manager.
But Daniels and Woodward are safe at home.
Davis said that neither is in jeopardy of losing his job, and furthermore he anticipates that Daniels will be with the club indefinitely. Davis sees five playoff berths in 11 seasons where some see six misses, and he has faith that Daniels can build another contender.
“I think we’re all judged by wins and losses, but we’re also judged by progress,” Davis said Thursday during a conference call with Rangers beat writers.
“If you’ve got a plow horse trying to win the Kentucky Derby, it’s a little difficult to do vs. a Secretariat. But if you’re starting out slow and starting out building, it’s going to take longer than if you’ve been coming off with a lot veteran players that have experience in winning.”
Davis said he doesn’t establish a number of games the Rangers must win for Daniels to keep receiving a paycheck. It appears Daniels must pass the ownership group’s eye test.
Progress will be relative in the coming seasons as the Rangers endure the growing pains of building with a young roster while not diving deep into free agency in an attempt to keep the payroll low.
Davis confirmed that the Rangers won’t have the same payroll as in 2020, an estimated $150 million before COVID-19 shortened the season and skewed player salaries. Some of that is salaries that are coming off the books but also the economic impact the pandemic had on the club.
The Rangers were unable to have fans at Globe Life Field, which stands as a significant loss. Some employees faced salary cuts while others were furloughed.
Davis said he has no plans to sell the team, which figures to increase in value with Globe Life Field completed. He hopes to bring back most furloughed employees beginning Jan. 1 and that the club will be back in good financial standing for the 2022 off-season.
All of that, though, hinges on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and a normal 2021 season.
Despite the crunch, Davis said Daniels will have enough flexibility to sign players, such as Joey Gallo, to contract extensions and free agents who fill needs.
“JD is going to be opportunistic,” said Davis, who was part of the group that purchased the Rangers for $593 million at a courtroom bankruptcy auction Aug. 4, 2010.
“If that means signing some player long term or signing a free agent that may come available to us that fills a specific need, those opportunities will still be out there for 2021.”
Daniels was signed to an extension June 7, 2018, though the length of the deal wasn’t specified. At the time it was thought to be through at least 2020, but appears to stretch at least through 2021.
He was first hired after the 2005 season at age 28, replacing John Hart. The only GM with more tenure than Daniels is the New York Yankees’ Brian Cashman.
Davis isn’t planning to end the Daniels era.
“From what I can see know and the history we have with Jon and with his history of building winning teams, I don’t see any change,” Davis said.
