Mike Maddux Sheds Light on Rangers Rotation

Pitching coach Mike Maddux was asked about the Rangers potentially using a six-man rotation this season.

Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux is talking like the club will lean toward a five-man rotation in 2023.

Maddux, while appearing on 1310-AM The Ticket in Dallas on Friday, was asked about whether the Rangers would consider a six-man rotation, based on same number of veteran starters in camp. His answer appears to lean to a more traditional five-man rotation by working in days off.

“One thing that I’ve always done with teams is we honor the off-day, and this goes back to my time in Texas (2009-15),” Maddux said. “If you have five starters, with a day off popping up every dozen days or so, they get to go on six-day swings. The only time, I wouldn’t say a six-man, but when we get back-to-back 17 straight (games) with an off-day, and then 17 more, we’ll slip in a spot starter. But going on a six man per se — it’d be nice if you had six. But by honoring the off days, we’re able to get those extra days here and there.”

The Rangers do have a 13-game stretch without a day off from June 9-21. After an off-day, the Rangers have a 17-game stretch without an off day that leads into the All-Star break from June 23-July 9.

After a 68-win season in 2022, the Rangers went to great lengths to put together a rotation of starting pitchers that were Major League veterans.

The big-ticket player of the group is Jacob deGrom, who just had his first Spring Training bullpen session of 2023 on Thursday. deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million deal with Texas this offseason.

From there, the Rangers were able to retain Martín Pérez on a $19.65 million qualifying offer for 2023. Pérez went 12-8 last season for Texas and made his first All-Star game.

The Rangers traded for Jake Odorizzi, who started for both the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves last season.

The Rangers also signed Andrew Heaney and Nathan Eovaldi this offseason.

That gave the Rangers six veteran starting pitchers and led to some speculation that the Rangers might attempt to use a six-man rotation, something the Los Angeles Angels have been using the past few seasons. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he was “open-minded” to the possibility during the offseason.

Both Bochy and general manager Chris Young have also said that the depth of the starting rotation is an asset in case of injury or in case someone needs a turn off in the rotation.

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