ARLINGTON, Texas — Once the youngest general manager in big league history, Jon Daniels is under contract to become among the longest-tenured GMs in the history of the Texas Rangers.

Daniels received a four-year contract extension through the 2015 season on Friday, a move that’s been expected since last fall, when he put together the first Rangers club to reach the World Series.

Daniels joined the organization as a baseball operations assistant in 2002. He was only 28 when he was promoted to GM in October 2005. If he serves out this contract, he’ll have been in charge for 10 seasons, which would match the club record set by Tom Grieve.

“My family and I love being in Texas and hope to build something really special over the next handful of years,” he said. “I think we’ve got a foundation and a process in place that we’re real comfortable with.”

The Rangers are considered contenders this season and beyond because Daniels has stockpiled a nucleus of young players and guys still in their prime, such as reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton and last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Neftali Feliz. Texas’ minor league system was deep enough that Daniels packaged prospects in a midseason trade for ace pitcher Cliff Lee without gutting the organization.

“The challenge is keeping the pipeline full and making sure there’s still next waves of players coming,” Daniels said. “What’s changed is at the big league level, it’s not a tryout any more. Guys are expected to play at a certain level and help us win. … There’s definitely a challenge. That’s the fun part. I think we’ve got the right people in place.”

Club president Nolan Ryan announced Daniels’ extension while at a meeting of team owners in Arizona, where the club is holding spring training.

“I think what he does best is he tries to assemble the best team he can possibly have around him, in the form of scouts and development people, and then he shows a lot of confidence in them and their ability,” Ryan said. “That’s a trait I like in people.”

Daniels said the next priority is contract extensions for other valued staffers.

“Nolan and I agree we want to keep that key leadership group intact and reward the people that have made us successful,” Daniels said.

Published: Friday, January 28, 2011, 6:16 PM     Updated: Friday, January 28, 2011, 6:17 PM

According to Yankees president Randy Levine, the Texas Rangers’ CEO is a “delusional” man running a team on “welfare.”

Levin ripped into Chuck Greenberg today in an interview with ESPNNewYork.com.

The remarks came after Greenberg boasted that the Rangers’ repeated pursuit of free-agent pitcher Cliff Lee this winter prevented the Yankees from signing the former Cy Young winner.

“I think if we wouldn’t have gone to Arkansas that last time, I think he was going to sign with the Yankees,” Greenberg said at the Rangers’ Fan Fest in at the Arlington Convention Center on Sunday. “We pried the door open a little bit to give ourselves another opportunity. And ultimately the Phillies were able to take advantage of that opportunity that we created. While we would have preferred that he would have chosen to go with us, we’re real pleased that he’s going to the other league.”

Levine’s reaction?

“I think Chuck is delusional,” Levine told ESPNewYork.com. “He has been running the Rangers for a few minutes and seems to believe he’s mastered what everyone else is thinking. I think he should let Cliff Lee speak for himself. I’ll be impressed when he demonstrates he can keep the Rangers off welfare. What I mean is make them not be a revenue-sharing recipient for three years in a row, without taking financing from baseball or advance money from television networks. Then I’ll be impressed.”

This isn’t the first time Greenberg angered the Yankees. He derided the behavior of Yankees fans during last season’s American League Championship Series.

“I thought Yankee fans, frankly, were awful,” he said. “They were either violent or apathetic, neither of which is good. So I thought Yankee fans were by far the worst of any I’ve seen in the postseason. I thought they were an embarrassment.”

Prodded by the commissioner’s office, Greenberg apologized for the remarks.