A Non-Baseball Reason Jake Burger Is Thrilled To Be Joining Texas Rangers

Jake Burger had multiple reasons to be happy about his trade to the Texas Rangers, including one very close to his family.

Aug 28, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Miami Marlins third base Jake Burger (36) during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Jake Burger had many reasons to be excited he was joining the Texas Rangers.

He's thrilled to join a World Series-winning lineup, his former manager Skip Schumaker who was hired as a senior advisor to Rangers president Chris Young in November, playing for Bruce Bochy, and reuniting with Dane Dunning, Burger's former teammate in the Chicago White Sox organization.

Mostly, however, Burger is happy his family is relocating to North Texas and close to Children's Health and its specialized Pediatric Down syndrome clinic. Burger and his wife Ashlyn learned their second child was diagnosed with Down syndrome during a prenatal screening. They welcomed daughter Penelope on Oct. 25.

"Our initial thought on learning about her diagnosis was simple, we just looked at each other and I had said to Ash, 'Okay, and?' " Burger told People.com. "Life isn't meant to be easy, it's meant to be fulfilling and this is God's way of doing just that."

For Burger, who was acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins, coming to Arlington is something of a blessing.

"It was kind of insane how everything worked together," said Burger, who resides in Nashville during the offseason. "The other city that is really good, other than Nashville, in terms of resources for Downs is in Dallas. So, not just from the baseball aspect, but from the life aspect as well. I feel like it was meant to be, and we couldn't be more excited about that."

Dunning was one of the first people Burger called about the trade. The pair lived together while rehabbing injuries in Arizona in 2018.

"It's incredible to get to work with [Schumaker and bench coach Luis Urueta] again," Burger said. "They helped me so much, both on and off the field, and getting back in an organization with them is awesome. And getting to be [Dunning's] teammate again is awesome. It's just a lot of good feelings, exciting feelings. I wish we were going down to Arizona tomorrow."

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