The Texas Rangers today announced the following transactions in the baseball operations department:
Igono will be in his sixth season in the Texas organization. He served the previous two seasons as Director of Peak Performance, with a focus on the minor leagues, and his new role will have expanded involvement with the major league club. He is responsible for the implementation and development of peak performance and mental skills programs for players and coaches. Igono, who played football at Arizona State and Northern Arizona, previously served as a strength and conditioning coach in the Texas system.
Hayes has joined the club as advance scout after a 13-year playing career that concluded with the Round Rock Express in 2017. In his role, Hayes will write comprehensive advance scouting reports on each upcoming opponent and also take part in communicating the information he generates, helping players and staff more easily digest and implement the reports. Hayes appeared in 189 major league games with the Marlins (2009-12), Royals (2013-14), and Indians (2015).
Smith is the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters Senior Advisor to the General Manager, and also serves as their Director of Major League Scouting. He has been a general manager with the San Diego Padres (1993-95) and Detroit Tigers (1996-01), winning Baseball America Executive of the Year honors with the Tigers in 1997.
Hargesheimer is in his 28th year as a scout, including the last nine with Hokkaido. He held scouting positions in the San Diego (1989-91; 94-96), Colorado (1991-94), and Detroit (1996-2008) organizations prior to joining the Fighters. Hargesheimer had an 11-year playing career from 1978-88 and appeared in 31 major league games with the Giants (1980-81), Cubs (1983), and Royals (1986).
Fox joins the player development staff after two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, most recently as the club's International Scouting Operations Coordinator. He was a Research and Development Intern with Milwaukee in 2016 and began his career in baseball as a Remote Video Intern with the Washington Nationals in 2015. He is a 2015 graduate of Haverford College, where he was an All-Centennial Conference First Team selection in 2012 and 2013.
The 42-year-old Gagne will be making his professional coaching debut. The 2003 National League Cy Young award winner's coaching experience includes serving as a guest instructor at spring training with the Dodgers and a stint as the pitching coach for Team France during the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in 2012. Gagne recorded 187 saves over 10 major league seasons with the Dodgers (1999-2006), Rangers (2007), Red Sox (2007), and Brewers (2008). Gagne last pitched with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in 2017, logging 5 relief appearances.
Kalkstein moves into a new advisory role after serving stints as the Rangers Sports Psychology Consultant from 1995-2005 and 2012-17. He has been the Director of Sport Psychology for the Dallas Mavericks since 2001.
Koo will primarily work with the amateur scouting and player development departments. He has worked for the Tigers (2016) and Blue Jays (2015) after a stint as a writer, among other duties, at Baseball Prospectus from 2012-2015. Koo graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in mathematics and business administration in 2015.