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Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker high fives players in the dugout before a baseball game against the Athletics at Globe Life Field on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Arlington. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)
DETROIT — Rangers manager Skip Schumaker is less than a decade removed from his tenure as a player and the highs or lows that accompanied it.
The latter can oftentimes be most beneficial in his current position.
"I've been benched plenty of times," Schumaker said before Sunday's game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, "and it sucked, but at least I knew why I was being benched and what I could do to be back out there in a role I wanted to be in."
So, when second baseman Josh Smith was given two games off to reset amidst a season-long slump, a clear explanation was given.
"He's amazing," Smith said with a smile Sunday when asked about his conversations with the manager. "He's the real deal with communication."
Schumaker believes it's a prerequisite for his job, because through his experiences on the field and on multiple staffs, he knows that "players just want to know where they stand" even if "they don't always love to hear it." Smith, in his first season as an everyday starter at one singular position, had slashed .193/.306/.217 before his two-game break, struck out twice on pitch clock violations in the week prior and made a handful of uncharacteristic defensive miscues.
It prompted Schumaker to sit Smith for Wednesday's series finale vs. the New York Yankees and Friday's series opener against the Tigers and ride the hotter hand of utility player Ezequiel Duran for a pair of starts at second base. Schumaker, in that same decision, though, reiterated the 28-year-old's importance to the club because "you have to have some belief in the player when they fail." He referenced third baseman Josh Jung who, after an 0 for 18 start to the season and a mental reset day of his own, has become the club's hottest hitter.
"It gives you a sense of confidence that he still believes in you, still trusts you and still wants you to do well," Smith said. "It makes you want to play for him and do well for him. That's kind of the way I've felt. No matter what happens — I know it's a business — but he's been great."
Smith went 2 for 4 in Saturday's loss to the Tigers, his first start since his reset, and started Sunday's finale.
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