Chris Young has hired as Rangers GM

The Texas Rangers today announced the appointment of Chris Young as Executive Vice President and General Manager. John Daniels remains in his position as Head of Baseball Operations.

This news is rather startling and seems to come out of nowhere. Young, 41, is a Dallas native who has been appointed vice president of MLB Field Operations, Initiatives and Strategy since May 2018. In February, 2020, Young was promoted to Senior Vice President.

Young was discussed as a possible general manager candidate for the New York Mets, but was reported to have taken himself into consideration because he had young children (ages 8, 10, and 12) living in the Metroplex, and did not want to uproot the family to move to New York. This news came out only a few days ago, and one has to assume that there were discussions between the Young and Rangers at the time, so the “family considerations”, while real, might also have been just a smokescreen. Obviously, by working with Rangers, Young will be able to keep his family in the Metroplex.

Young is so highly regarded in the game that someone is seen as a great baseball brain who is seen as being naturally fit in the front office role. His joining Rangers must be seen by Rangers fans as a very good thing.

Daniels has been General Manager for Rangers since October 2005 and has been head of baseball operations as well since March 2013. Young will report to Daniels, as Rangers now adopt the structure that many teams follow, with the General Manager and Head of Baseball Operations two separate positions, with the General Manager reporting to President.

One of Daniels’ early moves as General Manager was to trade rookie shooter Chris Young, along with Adrian Gonzales and Termell Sledge, to San Diego Padres for Adam Eaton, Akinori Otsuka and Billy Killian. It was a move that was widely criticized at the time (with the exception of Randy Galloway, who said he agrees with the move because anytime you can give up one shooter and get two in return, it’s a good thing), and it has fallen as one of the worst bargains. Presented by Daniels.

Fifteen years later, Daniels brought Chris Young home.