Bruce Bochy hired as Rangers manager

Bruce Bochy has been hired as the manager for the Texas Rangers, the team announced today. Bochy has signed a three year contract, covering the 2023-25 seasons.

Less than two hours ago I wrote that I thought the job was Bochy’s if he wanted it, and it appears that he did want it. Bochy spent twenty five years as the manager for the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants, and was at the helm of the Giants teams that won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

General manager Chris Young pitched for Bochy while both were with the Padres, and Bochy has been mentioned as a likely candidate for the job since Chris Woodward was dismissed in early August.

Bochy, 67, is the second-oldest manager in MLB, behind only Dusty Baker. I don’t see him as someone who is going to be a long-term guy here, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t manage the Rangers beyond the 2025 season he’s under contract for.

However, I don’t think Bochy would be coming back to manage a team that was going to flounder or tread water. The hiring of Bochy would seem to suggest that the Rangers are committed to making moves that will make them contenders in the very immediate future.