Kinsler returned to Rangers as special assistant to GM Young

ARLINGTON, TX (AP) — Former Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler returned to the team as special assistant to general manager Chris Young, his teammate in the organization’s minor league system nearly two decades ago.

Young said on Monday that Kinsler, who was part of the franchise’s only two World Series teams in 2010 and 2011, will be actively involved in player development and provide mentoring for both players and staff.

Kinsler, a four-time All-Star, had a World Series championship with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, a year before his retirement. Kinsler spent 14 seasons in the majors and spent the last three years in the San Diego Padres front office as a special assistant for baseball operations and player development. The 40-year-old lives in the Dallas area, as he has throughout his playing career.

Kinsler played for the United States at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and for Israel at the Olympics last summer, and he will manage Israel for the WBC next month.

Young and Kinsler were teammates for a few weeks at Double-A Frisco in the summer of 2004, the same year the pitcher made his major league debut. They trained together in the major leagues in the spring of 2005, and Young was traded after that season.

Kinsler, a 17th-round pick by Texas in 2003, played in 1,066 games for the Rangers from 2006 to 2013, hitting .273 on 156 homers, 539 RBIs, and 172 stolen bases. He hit .311 with a .422 on-base percentage in 34 postseason games. He was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame last summer.

Kinsler hit .269 with 257 homers, 909 RBIs, and 243 stolen bases in 1,888 career games overall for Texas, Detroit (2014–17), Los Angeles Angels (2018), Boston (2018), and San Diego (2019). He is one of two MLB second basemen with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in multiple seasons, and has had the only six-hit cycle in a nine-inning game since 1900 on April 15, 2009.