Recap: How the front office rating works
This is one in a series of assessments of the performances of front offices for the 2024 season. Each front office is given a score based on the total Wins Above Average of the players they either traded for, signed via free agency or extension, or promoted from their farm system, since the conclusion of the 2023 postseason.
A front office’s score also includes the total Wins Above Average of players traded away or lost to free agency since the end of the 2023 postseason. The front offices are being presented in order of their total value from No. 30 (worst) all the way to No. 1 (best).
These ratings do not necessarily reflect the final standings. Front offices are measured based only on the talent they acquired or lost during the past 12 months. Players on multi-year contracts, or already under team control, don’t count toward this rating.
20. Texas Rangers, Chris Young, executive vice president and general manager, -0.4
The 2024 season was obviously a letdown around the Metroplex, but hey, Young and Rangers fans will always have 2023.
The 2024 problems were broad-based, and in several cases, beyond the scope of Young’s ability to control. During their world championship run, nine Rangers delivered values of +1.0 or higher. Seven of those players — Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, Evan Carter, Jonah Heim, Nathan Eovaldi and Dane Dunning — returned for 2024.
The contributions of all seven of those returnees declined in 2024 by an imposing 16.3 games. When the performance of the core of your team falls off by more than 16 games from one season to the next, that’s not normally recoverable.
Young’s responsibility for those seven is limited to Garcia, to whom he gave a contract extension, and Carter. But those two alone cost the Rangers 5.2 games in 2024 compared with their 2023 performances.
Five most impactful Young moves
Transaction | Net Impact (Wins Above Average) |
|---|---|
Lost pitcher Jordan Montgomery to free agency | +2.5 |
Promoted rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford | +2.1 |
Signed free agent pitcher Kirby Yates | +2.0 |
Promoted rookie pitcher Jack Leiter | -2.0 |
Avoided arbitration with outfielder Adolis Garcia | -1.8 |
Young was nothing if not aggressive in his efforts to keep the Rangers relevant in 2024. Of the 22 Rangers players traded away, sold or lost to free agency, a solid half dozen produced values in excess of +1.0 or -1.0 for their new teams.
Noteworthy in that respect was Young’s winter decision not to be swept up in the extended battle over getting 2023 pitching stalwart Jordan Montgomery’s signature on a contract. The Arizona Diamondbacks eventually won that battle, but when Montgomery coughed up a 6.23 ERA in 21 starts, Young looked smart for having walked away from the negotiating table.
He also passed when Mitch Garver turned into a free agent following a productive 2023 as the Rangers' primary DH. Garver landed with a thud in Seattle, his average falling nearly 100 points to .172. Garver produced a -1.5 WAA for the Mariners.
Although doing so didn’t exactly rise to the level of rocket science given his minor league credentials, Young gets credit for the promotion of rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford. He hit a respectable .253 with a solid .740 OPS, which was third-best (behind Seager and Nathaniel Lowe) on the Rangers roster.
But given the poor performance of most of the Rangers every-day regulars, the team’s fall from grace in the standings was probably inevitable. In 2024, the Rangers averaged 4.22 runs per game, more than a full run lower than in 2023. In all of the American League, only the Tampa Bay Rays saw their offense recede more.
It's hard to say what Chris Young could logically have been expected to do to counteract that.
Previous Rankings
22. Washington Nationals, Mike Rizzo, president of baseball operations and general manager, -1.0
20. Texas Rangers, Chris Young, executive vice president and general manager, -0.4
Next: 19. Boston Red Sox, Craig Breslow, chief baseball officer, -0.2