Ross Fenstermaker is now the #2 man on the baseball operations side for the Rangers
The Texas Rangers have promoted Ross Fenstermaker, formerly their assistant general manager, to the position of general manager, the team announced today. In addition, the team announced it has hired Cole Figueroa, formerly of the Tampa Bay Rays, as an assistant general manager, and Justin Viele as the team’s new hitting coach.
Fenstermaker had been the Rangers’ vice president and assistant general manager for player development and international scouting since the end of the 2021 season. He originally joined the organization in 2010 as an intern, and worked as a scout for the Rangers prior to joining the front office.
Figueroa is a former major leaguer who accumulated 84 plate appearances over 48 games for the Rays, Yankees and Pirates from 2014-16. He joined the Rays’ front office after retiring as a player after the 2016 season. He has spent the previous three seasons as the Rays’ director of baseball operations.
Viele, 33, spent a couple of years in the minors before going into coaching. He worked in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organization as a minor league hitting coach from 2017-19, then joined the San Francisco Giants prior to the 2020 season. He has been the Giants’ hitting coach for the past several seasons, and worked with current Ranger coach Donnie Ecker when they were both in San Francisco.