Texas Rangers Name Chris Young as General Manager

Young comes to the Rangers after a 13-year pitching career and working as a senior VP in the MLB Commissioner's Office.

The Texas Rangers announced Friday that MLB vice president of on-field operations Chris Young will become the team's executive vice president and general manger.

The news was first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Levi Weaver of The Athletic. 

Young, a Dallas native, will work under Jon Daniels, the Rangers president of baseball operations. He was one of the leading candidates to become the New York Mets general manager, but he withdrew due to family considerations, according to Rosenthal.

OFFICIAL: Chris Young has been hired as Executive Vice President & General Manager.

Young, a Dallas native and @MLB's SVP of On-Field Operation, will work under Jon Daniels, President of Baseball Operations, in all areas of the department.

Welcome home, Chris! pic.twitter.com/wkkZDb9WHm

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) December 4, 2020

Young comes to the Rangers after working in the MLB Commissioner's Office and a successful pitching career. As a senior VP with MLB, he was responsible for, among other things, ensuring that ballpark and field alterations met MLB standards; working on MLB's pace of play and game presentation initiatives; advising on on-field disciplinary issues; assisting with negotiations with umpires, players and Minor League Baseball; participating in issues regarding player safety, on-field equipment and wearable technology; and helping with official scoring reviews submitted to MLB.

Before his time in the commissioner's office, Young spent 13 years as a big-league pitcher with the Rangers (2004-05), the San Diego Padres (2006-10), the Mets (2011-12), the Seattle Mariners (2014) and the Kansas City Royals (2015-17). 

He played his final MLB season in 2017, though he participated Spring Training with the Padres in 2018. He posted a career 79-67 record with a 3.95 ERA. Young was a member of the starting rotation when the Padres won the NL West in 2006—the most recent time they made the playoffs before their resurgent 2020 campaign.

Young was on the NL All-Star team in 2007, and he helped the Royals win the 2015 World Series, pitching 15 2/3 innings during the postseason. He threw three innings of hitless relief and earned the win in Kansas City's 14-inning victory over the Mets in Game 1 of the Fall Classic. In his five career postseason games, Young went 2-0 with a 2.01 ERA over 22 1/3 innings.