Rangers thrilled to play for manager Bochy

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- The Winter Meetings have come and gone and the Rangers have made a few splashes -- including signing right-hander Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185 million deal -- in free agency.

Through it all, Texas’ new manager Bruce Bochy has been there every step of the way. A three-time World Series champion with the Giants, Bochy was hired by general manager Chris Young to lead the club into its next era of contention.

Here’s what some Rangers stars had to say about the new skipper:

deGrom: "Bruce has been there and won the World Series. That was a big deal to me, too [when signing with the Rangers]. That's what he came back to baseball for, to win. Meeting him, it was kind of a whirlwind in 2015 at the All-Star Game. I was a little nervous. I had no clue what was going on. But saying hello to him and then playing against him when he was with the Giants and talking to him, getting to know him. He’s led competitive baseball teams, and I think it starts with a good leader."

2B Marcus Semien: “I’m so excited. I’m so happy that [team co-owner Ray Davis] and Chris Young made this decision. We all heard everything he's about. I've heard nothing but good things about him. I grew up a Giants fan, rooting for his teams. It was a special time, just seeing what he and that staff built over there. I think that we have the talent in the clubhouse to do the same things. I think it's heading in the right direction."

LHP Martín Pérez: "He’s a good guy, he’s old school, and that's what I like, you know? I think he’s got good ideas, and for me, the good thing is that he can help and communicate. He’s going to communicate with us and then, I think if you do that, it’s going to be easy for us to make the adjustment and compete every night."

RHP Jon Gray: "[I haven’t talked to him] in depth, but we did speak a little bit and I played plenty of games against him [when I was with the Rockies]. So I can't wait to hang out with him. It'll be good. ... I remember the bullpen changes he made. I remember that he was notorious for that."

C Jonah Heim: "He gave me a phone call. It’s very exciting news to hear a former catcher, you always love to hear that. We had a great conversation. He's here to win, as we all are, and he's going to do anything he can to get us there and get us to a championship. So it's very exciting, and I think a lot of people should be excited."

1B Nathaniel Lowe: "Anybody who's got three rings obviously has a clue what they're doing as far as winning at the Major League level goes. It's nice to have somebody in the manager’s spot that knows what it takes to win a World Series. He's going to bring everything that he can bring going forward and we're just going to get better. There's no other option for us besides getting better."

LHP Taylor Hearn, on MLB Network Radio: "Bruce is obviously here to win. That man won the World Series with the Giants [three times]. It’s huge, his pedigree is amazing. Whatever Bruce needs me to do, I’m going to do it and do it to the best I can."