Skip Schumaker was one of the most attractive management candidates after leaving his position with the Miami Marlins. Instead, he joins a front office.
The Texas Rangers have hired Schumaker as a senior advisor to president of baseball operations Chris Young, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The team also reportedly hired their Marlins bench coach, Luis Urueta, for their coaching staff.
Schumaker spent two years as manager of the Marlins, amassing a 146-178 record with a surprise playoff berth in 2023. His second season was less successful after the team cut payroll and lost manager General Kim Ng, and he finally ended it by telling his players that he would not return for 2025.
Schumaker was thought to be quickly picked up in this year’s coaching cycle, but he is apparently taking a different path.
He wouldn’t be the first to move from coaching to less intense front office consulting work, although he might also have an eye on management. The Rangers won a World Series under manager Bruce Bochy, but Bochy is also 69 years old and could possibly retire in the next few years.
There have only been three coaching openings this offseason: the Marlins, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox. The reds surprised everyone by bringing Terry Francona out of retirementwhile the White Sox tapped Will Venable to take over MLB’s worst team. The Marlins job is the only one still vacant, and Schumaker obviously wasn’t going there.
