Job No. 1 for Skip Schumaker? Helping Rangers’ ailing offense find its ‘real identity’

ARLINGTON — The latest fold in the history of the Texas Rangers franchise is underscored by familiarity.

The Rangers got their guy a year before they got their guy, if you catch our drift, and now plan to reap the benefits of his extended exposure to what works and what doesn’t work within the organization he’ll now manage.

The new boss has got a pretty good beat on it because of that.

“I think everybody is frustrated,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Friday in his introductory news conference at Globe Life Field. “My conversations with the players so far this offseason, [we’re] looking forward to finding out what our real identity is as an offensive team.”

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Former Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker responds to questions during the Major League...

Friday’s affair was jovial, hopeful and included an exchange of a jersey, scattered jokes and decrees of expected victory. It couldn’t end without a brief discussion of the lackluster offense that has now kept the Rangers from playoff contention for consecutive seasons.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young emphasized the importance of a sustainable offensive philosophy at the club’s end-of-year debrief earlier this month. Schumaker, whom the Rangers hired to an advisory role last winter and officially promoted to manager just hours after Young spoke, is in alignment.

“Corey Seager is a pretty good player,” Schumaker said of the team’s superstar shortstop. “I think he’s going to probably put up some insane numbers, and you know, be our aircraft carrier. But we all need to be pulling on the same rope in the direction of the offense.”

Young acknowledged a dearth of “team connectivity and team-oriented at-bats” at times on offense last season. The Rangers hit a below-average number of sacrifice flies (40), ranked bottom-five in sacrifice hits (10), sacrifice bunt attempts (20) and productive outs (132). They saw an average number of pitches per plate appearance and, with runners on base, they saw even fewer pitches.

Rangers new Manager Skip Schumaker, center, poses for a photo with President of Baseball...

Rangers new Manager Skip Schumaker, center, poses for a photo with President of Baseball Operations Chris Young, left, and General Manager Ross Fenstermaker during a press conference on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer

That can reduce a team’s margin for error with men on base and limit runs when a base hit is followed by a three-pitch strikeout or an unproductive at-bat. It can also drain a team’s ability to pounce on pitchers when — to borrow a phrase from former manager Bruce Bochy — the baton isn’t properly passed from one batter to another. See the team’s .703 OPS with runners in scoring position, the fifth-worst in baseball, for proof.

“Everything is different,” Schumaker said, “but having an identity — and not just having individuals throughout the team and the lineup — but having a real identity of ‘this is what we’re doing today to beat that team or that starter’ is really the goal.”

Identity is the pertinent word. The Rangers believed last season that theirs could be one centered upon an ability to slug and mash fastballs. Their slugging percentage was the fifth-worst in baseball, their average vs. fastballs was the fourth-worst, and it created a crisis that took the Rangers half of the season to overcome in a marginal way.

The Marlins, two seasons ago when Schumaker led them to the playoffs and was named National League Manager of the Year for his efforts, relied upon contact (where they led baseball in average) and an average to above-average capacity to hit situationally. They also took the fifth most bases — which means they advanced on fly balls, passed balls or other similar avenues — among all NL teams.

Schumaker reiterated that the offense’s focus will be on “whatever we can to win today” from a big-picture perspective. The small-picture perspective might help with that.

“I love the three-run home run,” Schumaker said. “That’s my favorite thing. It makes my life a lot easier. However, it’s really hard to hit, so you have to do the little things to help win games. You have to win on the margins. The base running helps you win games because that helps you score runs. I’m guessing the hitting coach would love for base running to be a strength of ours because that equates to runs.”

Settle in, Skip: See photos from Rangers’ intro news conference with new manager Skip Schumaker

Rangers new Manager Skip Schumaker, center, shakes hands with General Manager Ross... View Gallery