Inside The Rangers

Former Texas Rangers Star Reliever Signs One-Year Deal With Athletics

A former star Texas Rangers reliever has joined a new time, signing a one-year deal with the Athletics.
Dylan Sanders|
Aug 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jose Leclerc (25) reacts a call during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Field.
Aug 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jose Leclerc (25) reacts a call during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Field. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Texas Rangers

A former star Texas Rangers reliever has found a new home with the Athletics.

ESPN insider Jeff Passan shared the news on Friday afternoon that Jose Leclerc would be signing a one-year, $10 million contract with the Athletics.

That will officially put an end to his time with the Rangers, at least for now.

Leclerc was signed by Texas as an international free agent all the way back in 2010. His career since then has been full of a number of ups-and-downs.

He flashed greatness early on in his career with a 1.56 ERA over 57.2 innings of work back in 2018 when he was just 24. A few years and a Tommy John surgery later, that hype had died down a bit.

The Dominican Republic native came back from that injury and two years with two total innings played better than ever.

Between 2022 and 2023, he worked an impressive 2.75 ERA with 1.137 WHIP and 10.4 K/9. He also had a nice run in the postseason leading up to the World Series victory with four saves and a win.

He was playing at a well above-average rate and was counted on as being an anchor in the bullpen last season.

The 2024 Rangers bullpen was massively disappointing, though, and Leclerc was part of the reason for that. He regressed to a 4.32 ERA and now left the team in free agency.

The Athletics will hope that he can get back to his winning ways while Texas enjoys a reworked bullpen staff next season.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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