Mike Maddux won’t return to Texas Rangers in 2026, will join Angels

The coaching staff for new Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker won’t include pitching coach Mike Maddux, who is leaving to join another new manager in the American League West.

After leading the Texas Rangers to the first season in club history with the best ERA in the major leagues, Mike Maddux seemed like a lock to return in 2026 as the pitching coach on new manager Skip Schumaker’s first coaching staff.

Instead, Maddux will be joining the Angels and their first-time manager, Kurt Suzuki, multiple industry sources said. The Rangers confirmed that Maddux won’t be returning after they were unable to reach a new deal.

“The Texas Rangers are forever grateful to Mike for his contributions here,” president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “Mike has played a major role for some of the best teams in Rangers history, including the franchises’s first World Series title in 2023. We wish him the best.”

One of the sources said that the deal started to come together last week, when the Angels were granted permission by the Rangers to speak to Maddux. The Angels have not made a formal announcement on what is thought to be a one-year deal.

Maddux spoke with Young and Schumaker in the days following Schumaker’s introductory press conference Oct. 10, and all expressed interest in finding a deal. Another source said that the Rangers extended an offer to Maddux after the Angels inquired about his availability.

Maddux finished his second stint with the Rangers in 2025 after joining former manager Bruce Bochy for his first season in Arlington. The Rangers overcame injuries and bullpen issues in 2023 to win the World Series.

Maddux was the pitching coach under Ron Washington for the Rangers’ first two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.

The 2024 staff was again doomed by injuries, including to right-handers Max Scherzer and Jon Gray and left-hander Cody Bradford.

This season’s staff, led by Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, finished the season with a baseball-best 3.47 ERA despite another rash of injuries. Tyler Mahle and Patrick Corbin made solid contributions, but the biggest development was Jack Leiter’s solid rookie campaign that established him as a lock for the 2026 rotation.

Young said early in the offseason that the Rangers would be younger in 2026 and that Bochy’s replacement would have an eye on player development. Young denied that the Rangers would be entering a rebuild.

Young also said that keeping Maddux, bullpen coach Jordan Tiegs and analyst Dave Bush would be a priority, subject to the new manager’s needs. Schumaker and Maddux were on the Cardinals’ coaching staff in 2022.

Tiegs, a former Rangers minor-league pitching coordinator, and Bush, a former Red Sox pitching coach, could be candidates to replace Maddux, the second coach from the 2025 staff who won’t be returning. Catching coordinator Bobby Wilson was told early this month that he wouldn’t be back.

The team has not announced its coaches for 2026. Coaches’ contracts typically run through Oct. 31.

Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com