Ron Washington Steps Down as Rangers Manager

Ron Washington led Texas to its only two World Series berths in 2010 and 2011.

Ron Washington, the most successful manager in Rangers franchise history, unexpectedly resigned Friday from the post he had held for nearly eight years.

Washington, 62, cited “an off-the-field personal matter” as the reason behind his sudden resignation, which leaves bench coach Tim Bogar as the interim Texas skipper.

“As painful as it is, stepping away from the game is what’s best for me and my family,” Washington said in a statement released by the team. “I deeply regret that I’ve let down the Rangers organization and our great fans.

“Over the past eight seasons, it’s been a privilege to be part of some of the best years in club history and I will always be grateful for the opportunities I’ve had here, and for the great management, players, and coaches who have made our time here a success. Thank you for respecting my privacy.”

No further details were offered from Washington or general manager Jon Daniels, who addressed the situation in a press conference Friday afternoon with owners Ray Davis and Bob Simpson.

“While we’re disappointed,” Daniels said, “we accept Ron’s decision and are grateful to him, personally and professionally, for his contributions to the organization and the community in what has been really a record-setting and historic eight-year run as manager of the club.

“A lot of firsts, a lot of records, a lot of tremendous moments … together as an organization and a fan base, and we’re very, very grateful and thankful for all those things.”

Washington was named the 17th full-time manager in team history on Nov. 6, 2006, after Buck Showalter had been fired the previous month.

Inheriting a ballclub that had finished no higher than third place in A.L. West in almost a decade (and would finish last in his debut season), Washington helped to spark a gradual turnaround that saw the team increase its win total over each of the next four years, culminating in a franchise-best 96-66 mark in 2011.

Under Washington’s management, Texas made its first two World Series appearances in 2010 and ’11, only to be defeated by the National League’s San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively.

While the Rangers tailed off but remained competitive over the next two years, the 2014 season has been a disappointing series of bad breaks and poor performances, and Texas has now held the worst record in baseball (53-87) for more than two months.

Washington departs as the franchise’s all-time leader in a number of managerial categories, including games (1,278), regular-season wins (665) and postseason victories (18).

Holland Impressive in Return to Mound

The first key injury of this dreadful season came in January when southpaw Derek Holland tripped over his dog at home and sustained torn cartilage and other damage in his left knee.

Holland finally made his 2014 debut last Tuesday in Kansas City, and he pitched well despite receiving a no-decision in the Rangers’ 2-1 defeat. Across seven innings of work, he gave up one run on six hits with six strikeouts before Michael Kirkman allowed the go-ahead run to score in the eighth.

Tuesday marked the second of eight consecutive losses endured by Texas over the last 10 days, dropping the Rangers – the first team officially eliminated from playoff contention this year – 33.5 games behind the division-leading Angels.

Texas was able to snap its skid in Holland’s second appearance, however, as he outdueled Seattle lefty James Paxton en route to a 1-0 win Sunday at Globe Life Park, with Shawn Tolleson and Neftali Feliz each tossing a shutout inning to preserve the victory.

Roster Additions Abound with September Call-Ups

In order to make room for Holland on the active roster (as well as for Robbie Ross, who made a spot start in place of Miles Mikolas last week), right-hander Nick Tepesch was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock and first baseman Mike Carp was designated for assignment on Aug. 29.

Tepesch was recalled from Round Rock when rosters expanded just a few days later, as were pitchers Lisalverto Bonilla and Michael Kirkman and infielder Luis Sardinas.

The Rangers then selected the contract of reliever Spencer Patton from Triple-A on Thursday, and on Sunday veteran infielder Guilder Rodriguez had his contract purchased from Double-A Frisco.

On a dubious historical footnote, Derek Holland became the 60th different player to appear in a game for Texas this year, establishing a new big-league record for most players used by one team in a single season.

Rangers Notes: Texas Reels in Carp for Help at First

First baseman Mike Carp enjoyed a breakout performance in a part-time role for the World Champion Red Sox last year.

Having already used Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, Carlos Pena and J.P. Arencibia (among others) at first base this season, the Rangers look to continue the carousel with veteran Mike Carp, who was acquired Sunday on a waiver claim from the Boston Red Sox.

Citing a lack of playing time behind Mike Napoli, Carp had requested to be traded by Boston prior to the July 31 non-waiver deadline, and he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox just last Friday.

Originally drafted and signed by the New York Mets in 2004, Carp spent much of his career in the Seattle Mariners’ organization before going to Boston in 2013, where he flourished in a part-time capacity for the eventual World Series champions.

This season, however, Carp had batted a mere .198 with no homers and nine runs driven in across 42 games with the Red Sox, and he missed the entire month of June with a fractured right foot.

“Playing once a week, it’s hard to stay sharp,” he said. “The opportunities were few and far between, so it led to an unfortunate situation. It just came down to playing time. I just wanted to go out and compete.”

While Carp is expected to get most of his at-bats as the Rangers’ first baseman, he has also logged more than 100 games in left field in his career, a fact that could come into play with Shin-Soo Choo set to receive more playing time at designated hitter as the season winds down.

“I’m comfortable with whatever opportunity comes my way,” Carp said. “It will be better than what I had in Boston. I’ve got two months to figure it out and get back on track.”

Right-handed pitcher Alexi Ogando was transferred to the 60-day disabled list in order to make room for Carp on the 40-man roster, and an active roster spot was cleared Monday when Chris Gimenez was placed on paternity leave.

Rangers Get Swept in Cleveland

Texas gave its fans a brief respite from an otherwise lost season last week with a series win over the Yankees at Globe Life Park, but the club returned to form in a weekend sweep at the hands of Cleveland over the weekend.

Quality starts from Yu Darvish and Colby Lewis helped the Rangers beat New York in the series opener and finale, respectively, by scores of 4-2 and 3-2, but the Yankees prevailed in a 12-11 see-saw slugfest on Tuesday.

Longtime New York shortstop Derek Jeter, who announced in February that this would be his final season, was honored Wednesday in a pregame ceremony that included former Rangers Ivan Rodriguez and Michael Young.

Following an off day Thursday, Texas was routed by a final of 12-2 in Friday’s game at Progressive Field, as right-hander Jerome Williams could not build on his impressive first start with the Rangers.

Miles Mikolas saw his quality start wasted Saturday as the Texas lineup was shut down by T.J. House and the Indians’ bullpen in a 2-0 defeat, and Cleveland completed the sweep Sunday when David Murphy’s homer tied the game at 3-3 in the ninth and Michael Brantley hit a walk-off shot in the twelfth.

Klein called up, Feierabend DFA’d

The Rangers purchased the contract of right-hander Phil Klein from Triple-A Round Rock before Friday’s game in Cleveland, designating lefty Ryan Feierabend for assignment in a concurrent roster move.

The 25-year-old Klein had produced a sparkling earned run average of 0.52 across 33 relief outings between Round Rock and Double-A Frisco this season, but he was greeted rudely when the first batter he faced in the majors – Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall – took him deep Friday.

Feierabend, meanwhile, had made six appearances out of the Texas bullpen since he was called up from Triple-A last month, compiling a 6.14 ERA over seven and one-third innings while serving mostly in mop-up relief duty.