The Texas Rangers, to no one’s surprise, are looking forward to 2019. That much has been clear for a while. But they seem to be taking a more progressive tack: not only have they moved Martin Pérez to the bullpen (making it unlikely that they will pick up his 2019 team option), they have now fired their Director of Baseball Operations Matt Vinnola, sources tell The Athletic.



Vinnola had held the position since November of 2009, and while he isn’t one of the most prominent names in the Rangers front office, his behind-the-scenes workload was substantial: he oversaw the arbitration process, including case preparation and presentation, was a key member of negotiations with agents, and played a key role in “payroll management, financial analysis, and coordination with finance and ownership on all departmental budgets and CBA related issues”, according to the Rangers’ media guide.



In recent years, he had also taken a...