Rotation’s woes in 2020 may have cost Julio Rangel as Texas Rangers pitching coach
Kyle Gibson said late in the season that he wished he had discovered the cure for his woes in the first two weeks instead of the final two.
Julio Rangel might feel the same way.
The Texas Rangers dismissed Rangel on Monday, and catching coach Hector Ortiz also won’t return to manager Chris Woodward’s staff in 2021. Ortiz was offered a job in the organization but hasn’t decided if he will accept it.
Rangel, though, is shouldering the blame for the struggles of newcomers Gibson and Jordan Lyles, as well as the ineffectiveness of Mike Minor before he was sent to the Oakland A’s at the trade deadline.
Woodward and general manager Jon Daniels did not immediately respond to text messages.
The Rangers hired Rangel in November 2018 because of his background in player development and his embrace of analytics. It was his first job on a major-league coaching staff.
Minor and Lance Lynn flourished in Rangel’s first season, with Minor earning an All-Star berth and Lynn finishing fifth in Cy Young balloting. Minor was eighth.
But the exception of Lynn, the rotation struggled in 2020.
Minor was plagued by a dead arm and went 0-5 with a 5.60 ERA. Gibson pitched well in two of his final three starts to finish 2-5 with a 5.35 ERA in the first year of his three-year, $28 million deal.
Lyles’ ERA finished at 7.02 as he went 1-6 in the first year of his two-year, $16 million deal.
Corey Kluber, who was expected to be a key piece of the pitching plans, was injured after only one inning of his first start and didn’t pitch again. His replacement was Kolby Allard, who went 0-6 with a 7.75 ERA.
