Texas Rangers lure Baseball Savant creator to lead research and development operation
Daren Willman, the brains behind the popular MLB website Baseball Savant, was hired Friday by the Texas Rangers to take the lead in their ever-growing research and development department.
Willman has been working for Major League Baseball the past five seasons in the same position, where he developed and maintained Baseball Savant and also developed the Prospect Stats section at mlb.com.
A Houston resident and former player at Texas Lutheran, Willman will start his Rangers post later this month. He said on Twitter that he felt the pull to work for an organization.
“In the back of my mind I always wanted to work for a team if the right opportunity came up,” Willman wrote. “And it finally did.”
The Rangers tried to hire Willman five years ago, president of baseball operations Jon Daniels said. Willman remained in contact with some of the people he met during the interview process, and they reached out to him when the position came open.
Daniels said that Willman takes an innovative look at data and can make it simple to understand, which has made Baseball Savant become a go-to website for people in the game, media and fans.
“His skills and resume are very apparent on a very public standpoint,” Daniels said. “He came in and helped us utilize information in a variety of decision-making processes. I think he’ll help us in preparing information in a way that our players and our coaches and scouts and other end users can utilize the information to help them prepare better.”
The Davis plan
Designated hitter Khris Davis could be activated from the injured list as early as Saturday after recovering from a strained left quadriceps muscle late in spring training.
Davis joined the Rangers’ alternate training site last week at Triple A Round Rock and played Thursday night for the Express, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. He made his way to the Metroplex on Friday, Daniels said.
Davis will have to earn his at-bats, manager Chris Woodward said, though expect to see him against left-handed pitchers. The Seattle Mariners are scheduled to start lefty Justus Sheffield on Sunday.
“It is a bit of a meritocracy when it comes to the at-bats, and there’s more to that meritocracy than just looking up at the scoreboard and seeing the numbers,” Woodward said. “It’s the quality of their at-bats, how they’re handling pitches, how they prepare.”
Davis was acquired in the February trade with Oakland for Elvis Andrus in what amounted to a salary swap. Davis is making $16.25 million this season, after which he will become a free agent.
Cody injury update
Right-hander Kyle Cody will be out far longer than the Rangers had anticipated initially because of a bone bruise in his right shoulder. He received an platelet-rich plasma injection last week to help speed up the heeling process.
The Rangers have been assured by their medical staff that Cody’s injury, which was caused by throwing, will not create any long-term ramifications and he should pitch again this season.
Cody, who was working as a reliever after missing out on a tandem role, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018 and made his MLB debut last season. The Rangers had planned to limit his workload this season.
