Texas Rangers: Jeff Banister out, what does it mean?

The Texas Rangers have fired Jeff Banister as they attempt to focus their efforts on rebuilding this franchise. But what does it all mean?

The Texas Rangers have finally pulled the trigger on firing manager, Jeff Banister. The franchise seemingly wanted to get a jump start on moving in a new direction focused on youth and development. It is safe to say the roster Banister had when he began his time with the Rangers slowly deteriorated, and with the team currently in a rebuilding phase, Bannister found himself the odd man out.

He had brought the AL West titles back to Texas during his first two seasons with the ball club, however general manager, Jon Daniels believed that the team should move in a new direction. 

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Finding a new voice of the clubhouse is key when going through a rebuild. The Rangers players are mostly young and impressionable, no name talents who will look to form a cohesive unit in the future. Right now, the roster is pretty raw and the message that Banister had been known for was not what the players currently on the roster needed to hear.

The Texas Rangers have had a rough season to say the least and have stumbled their way to a second consecutive losing season. Banister had a passion to win, and field a team that was capable of winning a World Series. The Rangers need a manager who will have enough patience and skill to handle a young talented roster.

Currently sitting at 64-88 on the season, there was no reason really to keep Banister around as it was in the best interest of both parties to move on. This decision was likely not based off of record by any means, it had more to do with starting fresh and giving both sides enough time to find the perfect fit.

For the Rangers that may be a bit harder to do as they cannot contact any mangers until a World Series champion has been decided. Of course, the Rangers could be seeking someone on a team who has not made the playoffs, but that seems unlikely.

Don Wakamatsu will take over for Banister and should have a solid chance of landing the role however with only ten games left on the schedule it is unlikely that decision will be made based off of his performance during these final games.

This could also be the first in a string of moves made by the Rangers front office as they look to hire new coaches that can spread some new ideas and energy around the clubhouse. It also does not appear that they are overly interested in any recently retired players so a move internally seems to be the most likely option (for the 2019 season).

Anyway you look at it, the winds of change are blowing through Texas for better or worse.

• Published on 09/27/2018 at 20:00 PM
• Last updated at 09/27/2018 at 05:46 AM