Ian Kinsler Comes Home to Rangers

Ian Kinsler looks forward to a shorter commute and helping the Rangers return to contention.

The Texas Rangers didn’t require much of a sales pitch to get Ian Kinsler to come home.

The Rangers introduced their former second baseman — and recently minted Rangers Hall of Fame — as a special assistant to general manager Chris Young on Monday, after he spent the last three seasons in a similar position with the San Diego Padres.

The Padres treated him well, Kinsler said. He had a good relationship with general manager AJ Preller, a former Rangers staffer under previous general manager Jon Daniels.

But Petco Park isn’t 30 minutes away from his Dallas-Fort Worth based house.

“This feels like home to me,” Kinsler said on Monday.

He spent the majority of his Major League career with the Rangers and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame last August. Kinsler joins five other Rangers who fill a special assistant role — Ivan Rodriguez, Michael Young, Darren Oliver, Colby Lewis and Nick Hundley.

Kinsler won’t be with the Rangers right away. He is managing Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. Kinsler intends to hit Rangers Spring Training in Surprise after the WBC.

Kinsler did most of the legwork to work out a deal with Preller to move to the Rangers. After three seasons of helping the Padres, he felt it was time to be closer to home and wanted to be a part of what he hopes will be a Rangers resurgence.

“I grew up here,” Kinsler, 40, said. “I was drafted by this organization. There are a lot of people throughout this organization that have made an impact on my career. Having CY (Young) here now, it just seemed like the pieces were all falling in the right place. I’m truly excited about it.”

Kinsler was the second baseman for the Rangers during their 2010 and 2011 World Series runs.

The Rangers drafted Kinsler in the 17th round of the 2003 MLB Draft, and he worked his way through the minor league system to earn a roster spot coming out of spring training in 2006, replacing Alfonso Soriano at second base. Kinsler played eight seasons for the Rangers, hitting .273 with 156 home runs and 539 RBI. He was a three-time All-Star.

Kinsler also became the fourth Ranger for the cycle while going 6-for-6 on April 15, 2009, which also happened to be Jackie Robinson Day. He had at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases for the Rangers twice and left the franchise as its stolen base leader.

He was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Prince Fielder after the 2013 season. Kinsler played four season in Detroit, earning another All-Star Game berth and winning his first Gold Glove. He spent 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels before he was traded to Boston. He helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series, along with former Rangers teammate Mitch Moreland.

He ended his career with San Diego in 2019.

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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