Bochy brings some magic to dugout

By David Mullen

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy’s goal in 2025 is to return to the postseason. 

If his previous managerial record holds true, the Rangers will win the World Series in 2025.

When pitchers, catchers and position players united in Surprise, Ariz. on February 18, spring training in the Cactus League was officially underway. Baseball is back and Bochy is ready for the season to begin.  

“Flying into Arizona, I haven’t lost that feeling, how excited you get to get back, get back on the field, see the guys and just be around them,” Bochy told mlb.com. “It’s so beautiful. When I came back after retiring for three years, you just realize how much you miss it. That gratitude meter shoots way up. You’re grateful, and you realize you’re blessed to be doing what you love to do.”

Bochy, 69, is entering the final year of his three-year managerial contract. 

He was hired by the Rangers in October 2022 to win a World Championship, something that had not happened since the team arrived in Arlington in 1972. He achieved the milestone in his first season, leading the Rangers to the 2023 World Series title. 

The Rangers had appeared in the World Series in 2010 and 2011, but making it is not like winning it. The dismal 2024 season — besieged by player injuries and poor offensive performances up and down the lineup — ended with a 78-84 season and a third-place finish in the AL West. It was the 24th consecutive year that a team won the World Series and did not win the crown the following year. And 22 of the 24 teams — including the 2024 Rangers — didn’t return to the World Series at all. 

Bochy brings some magic to the dugout. Coming off his 2010 and 2012 World Championships with the San Francisco Giants, the team failed to make the playoffs in the following season, just like the Rangers. 

But his teams returned to win the World Series, including 2014, in the subsequent year. Just like the Rangers?

Possibly. The 2025 Rangers have some reasons for optimism, other than Bochy’s ability to win it all one year and lose it all the next. The Texas brass dug deep, and President of Baseball Operations/GM Chris Young improved the team on paper, while saving an estimated $5 million in team payroll (a reported $222 million for 2025).

Entering this season, as injuries and a quiet offensive defined the 2024 team, the Rangers made stocking the roster with bats an offseason goal. The team brought in 1B Jake Burger, OF/DH Joc Pederson and a legitimate backup catcher Kyle Higashioka, who will give starting C Jonah Heim some pressure to return to his 2023 form. The addition of Burger gives the Rangers much needed righthanded power. His 29 HRs for Miami would have put him one behind SS Corey Seager for the Rangers lead. He is a likeable character on the field, and fans will gravitate toward him much like they made former Rangers Kevin Mench, Rusty Greer, David Murphy and others local heroes. At 28, Burger is primed to make a big contribution on the team as a middle of the lineup bat, replacing Nathaniel Lowe.  

A healthy season for 3B Josh Jung gives Texas an infield of Burger, Marcus Semien, Seager and Heim at catcher. Only Burger has not been an All-Star in his career, and his time is coming. Ezequiel Durán and Josh Smith provide experienced depth. 

The outfield, headed by RF Adolis Garcia, will be rounded out by a combination of Evan Carter, Leody Taveras, budding star Wyatt Langford and Pederson. All eyes will be on Carter, recovering from a back injury, to see if he can make the same type of contributions he made during the Rangers 2023 championship run.  

The pitching staff will have a mix of familiar starters and a restocked bullpen. They retained the services of reliable starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi for $75 million over three years. Jacob deGrom is an ace when healthy. Jon Gray and Cody Bradford are solid, and Texas hopes they found a gem in Tyler Mahle, who spent much of 2023 and 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. 

Gone from the bullpen are Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Andrew Chafin and World Series hero Jose Leclerc, replaced by veterans Robert Garcia, Chris Martin, Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner. 

No team in the AL West made major moves in the offseason. The Houston Astros lost free agent 3B Lance Berkman, traded Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, are moving All-Star 2B Jose Altuve to the outfield and rebuilding their pitching staff. The Seattle Mariners made few impactful offseason improvements. The Los Angeles Angels have already lost 3B Anthony Rendon — again — to a season ending hip injury and are moving Mike Trout to right field in an attempt to keep him healthy. The Athletics, playing in a minor league stadium in Sacramento in 2025 and beyond, made pedestrian moves.    

This is a critical spring training for Bochy and the Rangers. He has to build the strongest roster possible, focus on player conditioning and improve plate discipline while considering a return to the team in 2026 with a new contract.    

“This is where I’m happy. It couldn’t have worked out better,” Bochy, the second oldest current manager behind the Angles Ron Washington, told mlb.com. “We’ve talked about my situation, believe me. Right now, I want to get this thing back to where we were last year, and that’s back to the postseason.”

Bochy’s track record gives fans reason to believe that the Rangers return to the postseason in 2025 is inevitable.