Skip Schumaker was one of the most attractive management candidates after leaving his position with the Miami Marlins. Instead, he will work in a front office.
The Texas Rangers have hired Schumaker as a senior advisor to president of baseball operations Chris Young Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The team is also reportedly hiring its Marlins bench coach Luis Urueta to their coaching staff.
Schumaker spent two years as manager of the Marlins, amassing a 146–178 record with a surprise playoff berth in 2023. His second season was less successful after the team cut payroll and lost general manager Kim Ng, and he eventually ended it by telling his players he wasn’t coming back until 2025.
It was assumed that Schumaker would be picked up quickly in this year’s coaching cycle, but he is apparently taking a different path.
He wouldn’t be the first to make the switch from coaching to a less intensive front office consulting job, although he could still have an eye for management. The Rangers won a World Series with manager Bruce Bochy, but Bochy is also 69 years old and could potentially retire again in the coming years.
There were only three manager openings this season: the Marlins, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox. The Reds surprised everyone by getting Terry Francona to retire, while the White Sox brought in Will Venable to take over the worst team in the MLB. The Marlins job is the only one left vacant, and Schumaker clearly wasn’t going there.
