As the Texas Rangers continue to fall off the pace in the American League West, president and general manager Jon Daniels isn't looking to place the blame on his coaching staff.
"When we took the approach we took this offseason -- and on top of that you've got the number of injuries we've got -- I'm not sitting here looking to blame the coaching staff for personnel issues like that," Daniels told reporters Monday.
"From a coaching staff perspective, what we constantly talk about is just the development of our young players, some of which are going well and some of which are not."
The Rangers, managed by Jeff Banister, are 18-31 and 12½ games behind the division-leading Houston Astros through Monday's games. Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor, Delino DeShields, Matt Moore and Martin Perez have all spent time on the disabled list, leading to playing time for players such as Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ronald Guzman and Jurickson Profar.
"We said from day one it was critical -- the development of these young guys," Daniels said. "That has been accelerated by the injuries. ... Coaches have to create an environment for the players to execute in. Coaches lay out a plan and challenge the player in a way, get through to the players in a way, to get the most out of them.
"At the end of the day, it's up to players to go out and execute."
With the MLB draft (June 4) and the trade deadline (July 31) looming, Daniels is looking at rebuilding the team's depth at the minor league level.
"You are always looking to get better," Daniels said. "Obviously, we are not in a great spot in the standings, That will influence things. You try and take a step back and look at things for this year, next year and the foreseeable future, where you want to be and what is the best way to get there."
