Texas Rangers fire manager Chris Woodward amid season of dissatisfactory progress

Chris Woodward was fired as manager of the Texas Rangers on Monday, despite the fact that the team spent more than half a billion dollars on free agents over the winter.

Third place in the American League West is held by the Rangers. After four years with a losing mark, Woodward is expected to be replaced by an interim.

Expectations were raised after the additions of Marcus Semien and Jon Gray, who were close to Woodward when he was a Dodgers coach. The Rangers' 6-24 record in one-run games would be the second-worst single-season winning percentage in such finishes since 1900.

Woodward's contract was extended by the state of Texas in November and he has an option to extend it for a second year in a row. After a 12-year career as a utilityman, Woodward was hired by the Rangers as an assistant coach.

Jeff Banister, who had won division titles in his first two seasons after replacing Ron Washington, struggled to a last place finish in his third season. As the organization transitioned through a rebuild, the Rangers were hoping that Woodward would be able to keep the role stable. The Rangers accelerated their timetable in the open market because of last year's last place finishes.

Adding Seager at $325 million and Semien at $175 million to form their half-billion dollar middle infield was the move meant to thrust the Rangers into at least near-contention. Despite Seager and Semien's slow starts, they have combined for nearly six wins above replacement.

If the Rangers hit the free agent market this winter with money to spend and a starting pitcher to acquire, the new manager will have a lot to think about. At the trade deadline, the Rangers had a number of options, including trading for starting pitching and even going after Juan Soto, but they kept their farm system. The core of Texas can be found with Seager and Semien, Adolis and Gray, and possibly Martin Perez.

Finding a manager to bring the best out of it in a division with a Houston Astros team that is always competitive and a SeattleMariners team that is on the rise is now the goal. The Texas organization hopes to return to the glory days of 2010-16, when the Rangers made the playoffs five times in seven years, with the hiring of a new manager.