Rangers announce front office shakeup
ARLINGTON -- The Rangers, along with general manager Chris Young and president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, announced a number of front office and baseball operations staff changes on Friday afternoon.
Daniels said the moves have been in the works internally for about a month and that the group has had informal conversations about the possible changes.
“We've had discussions on all these things pretty regularly throughout the year,” Daniels explained. “It probably came to a recommendation that we made the ownership. It was more informal conversations between [Daniels and Young] and looking at the best way to integrate all of our departments, and amplify our strengths and put people in the best position to succeed. We expect to win, and we feel like this is a big move towards that.”
Ross Fenstermaker, who has spent the last two years as the Rangers’ senior director of international and pro scouting, will be promoted to vice president and assistant general manager for player development and international operations. Fenstermaker is in his 12th year with the organization and will continue to spearhead the club’s international amateur scouting, while adding responsibilities with the Minor League operations department.
“Ross is someone that has done a great job in the pro scouting department and overseeing international operations,” Young said. “His contributions in terms of the systems, the processes that he set up there and some of the things that we've really benefited from, we think will translate to player development. We're very excited about his leadership and look forward to him taking us to the next level, and building on the great things that have already happened within player development.”
Assistant general manager Josh Boyd has been named vice president and assistant GM for scouting. Boyd, who has been with the club since 2008, will oversee the pro, amateur and Pacific Rim scouting departments.
Assistant general manager Mike Daly will keep the same title, but his responsibilities will shift as he continues to “serve a meaningful role in the Rangers' baseball ops,” working closely with Daniels and Young at all levels of the organization. Daly has worked many different positions in the organization since he began in 2006, most recently overseeing Minor League player development in '21.
Daniels said the staff is still working through the intricacies of how Daly’s new role will play out, but they feel like it was an exciting opportunity to get him more involved.
“We're still talking with Mike and internally about the best way to utilize his skills,” Daniels said. “He's got a ton of experience, a lot of equity with all of us here with the Rangers, ownership and down through various departments, with Chris and myself. We're really proud of a lot of things that we've got going on on the development side, and at the same time, we felt that there was an opportunity to take it to another level.”
Other moves include:
• Napoleon Pichardo is being promoted to senior director of performance. Pichardo has worked with the club for 15 years, first as the Minor League strength and conditioning coordinator and most recently oversaw the Minor League performance group.
• Joda Parent is being promoted to director, baseball administration and executive assistant. Parent has been with the Rangers since 2015, when she joined as executive assistant to the president of baseball operations and general manager.
• Paul Kruger is being promoted to director of baseball operations on the Major League side after having the same position for Minor League operations since 2018.
• Ben Baroody is being promoted to director of leadership and development after serving as assistant director of baseball operations for three years. He’ll be responsible for overseeing the Rangers’ mental skills department, along with leadership and personal development at both the Major and Minor League levels. He joined the club in 2016 as the manager of amateur scouting.
• Mike Parnell is being promoted to director of professional scouting after being assistant director in the same department for the last two years. He’s been with the organization since 2014.
Young also noted that the mental skills department, headed by Baroody, will be an important part of the organization in providing resources for players both on and off the field.
Daniels said there are still plans to address a few other positions in the organization, including a farm director under Fenstermaker, but the Rangers are prepared to proceed with the leadership group as currently configured.
The transition between these new roles will occur over the next 60 days.
“[The changes are] really about looking at our staff strengths and putting them in the best positions to take advantage of those strengths, and then continue to develop them,” Daniels said. “In a rebuilding season at the Major League level, with the challenges that come with that, and, obviously, a lot of losses, we don't take any pride in that piece of it.
“But we take a lot of pride and a lot of the positives that are going on elsewhere in the organization. From some of the things on the development side, some of the acquisitions we've made and some of the systems that we've built. We feel like these moves allow us to take all those tips to another level. We'll have some additional personnel decisions to make and likely some additions to make that will continue to move us forward.”