If you’re the Mariners, you’re spending this week thinking about matchups, staying ready, and rest patterns. You’re not thinking about 2026. And yet here comes the AL West with a gift basket. The Texas Rangers are resetting the leadership deck, and the timing couldn’t be friendlier for a Seattle club that’s built its edge on continuity, player development, and run prevention. No, divisions aren’t won by press releases, but it sure doesn’t hurt when your closest rival uses one to announce turbulence.
On Sept. 29, Texas and Bruce Bochy mutually agreed to end his three-year run — a run that delivered the franchise’s first World Series title in 2023 and a mountain of credibility, but now gives way to uncertainty about direction, dollars, and dugout voice.