Rangers Hire Mike Maddux, Dayton Moore

Mike Maddux returns for a second stint as Rangers pitching coach, while Dayton Moore will be a senior advisor to baseball operations.

The Texas Rangers officially hired Mike Maddux as pitching coach on Wednesday, along with announcing the hiring of Dayton Moore as a senior advisor for baseball operations.

The hiring of Maddux fills the only opening on Bruce Bochy’s first staff as Rangers manager, though the organization could certainly add more to the staff as the offseason progresses. The Rangers have already done that by hiring Will Venable as associate manager.

Maddux is familiar to Rangers fans. He was the team’s pitching coach from 2009-15 under manager Ron Washington. During Maddux’s stint with the team the Rangers reached the 2010 and 2011 World Series. He also helped develop young arms like C.J. Wilson, Derek Holland and Matt Harrison. Before joining the Rangers, he was the pitching coach in Milwaukee from 2003-08. Since leaving Texas, he’s worked for the Washington Nationals (2016-17) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2018-22).

“I am thrilled to welcome Mike to our coaching staff," Bochy said via press release. "Mike has a unique ability to connect with a pitching staff and motivate pitchers to perform at their highest level. He has had success at every stop in his coaching career and we are excited to bring him on board for a second stint in Arlington."

Maddux had a journeyman career as a player, spending 15 seasons in the Major Leagues with 10 different teams, going 39-37 with a 4.05 ERA. He is the older brother of Hall-of-Fame pitcher Greg Maddux.

Moore was most recently the president of baseball operations with the Kansas City Royals. He was released from that position in September. Moore led the Royals starting in 2006 and helped build the organization that won the 2015 World Series.

Moore worked his way through the Atlanta organization from 1994-2006, during which Atlanta won the 1995 World Series and made two other Fall Classic appearances. Moore learned from two Hall of Famers — manager Bobby Cox and general manager John Schuerholz. He eventually became the team’s assistant general manager before taking the Royals job.

Rangers general manager Chris Young was a member of the Royals 2015 World Series team.

“Dayton Moore was the first person I contacted when we were looking to add experience to our baseball operation,” Young said. “I got the opportunity to know Dayton personally when I pitched for Kansas City from 2015-17, and there is no one more respected in our game. He rebuilt the Royals into a World Champion during his tenure running their baseball organization, which produced a lot of outstanding players along the way.”

The Rangers now turn their attention to the free-agent market, where they’re looking for at least one more front-line starting pitcher. The Rangers have three veteran starters for 2023 — Martín Pérez, Jon Gray and Jake Odorizzi.

The Rangers have reportedly reached out to at least two other top-tier free-agent pitchers in Jacob deGrom and Carlos Rodón. The Rangers also hosted Japanese free-agent starter Kodai Senga recently.

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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