Next Man Up: Which Rangers Can Help Wounded Bullpen?
The Texas Rangers are clearly in rebuild mode, however, there have been glimpses of hope and plenty of positives to takeaway from this past spring. Specifically the competition between players.
Yet, not all has gone right for the Rangers. One of the units thought to be an anchor for the team heading into the 2021 season was the bullpen. Jonathan Hernández, José Leclerc and Demarcus Evans were supposed to help solidify a bullpen that will seemingly be called upon more often this season.
Instead, all three are set to miss Opening Day, with Hernández and Leclerc likely to start the season on the 60-day IL.
Additionally, work horses like Joely Rodríguez, Brett Martin and Joe Palumbo will also be unavailable for Opening Day. That means that five or six of the pitchers who had a pretty locked in place in the bullpen (as locked in as one can be in Major League Baseball) will not start the season with the team.
Therefore, who will be called upon to reinforce the depleted bullpen to start the season?
As of writing, the Rangers are currently sitting with 39 players on the 40-man roster after Joe Gatto was outrighted to Triple-A. With the two spots vacated by Hernández and Leclerc, along with Brock Burke possibly heading to the 60-day IL, this will leave some room for the Rangers to add some additional arms to start the season.
The first two names to look out for are Matt Bush and Ian Kennedy. Bush is a former-Ranger and after recovering from Tommy John surgery looks to be back and ready to make the roster. Bush has been used in late-inning situations before, and he has the stuff to be successful in the closer or setup role. While in 2017 he could touch 100 mph with his fastball, his most recent spring training performance saw him hit 95 mph while also utilizing a sharp breaking ball.
Kennedy was brought into camp to compete for a bullpen spot this season after spending the last five seasons with the Kansas City Royals. During that time period, he transitioned from a starting role to the bullpen. After the transition, he notched 30 saves in the 2019 season.
After spending 14 seasons in the major leagues, Kennedy brings veteran leadership to a bullpen that could see its struggles early after the rash of injuries this spring. As of now, it appears that Bush and Kennedy will be the players that manager Chris Woodward will turn to in the late-innings in the early going.
With the late-innings taken care of, who can be the multi-inning pitcher that Texas will undoubtedly need? Again, not only is a piggyback situation supposed to take place with some of the starting spots, but many of the other starters will likely have their pitch count monitored throughout the season. Players that could be a part of that system are pitchers like Dane Dunning, Taylor Hearn, Kolby Allard and Kyle Cody. That makes their presence in the bullpen that much more unlikely.
Therefore, one name that has been tossed around is Hunter Wood.
Wood has significant experience in the Majors, and he projects to be a player that could go at least two innings in relief if called upon. He also has the stuff to step into a set-up role if need be as he has a change, curve and cutter to go along with his four-seam fastball.
Finally, Brett de Geus and Josh Sborz are the other two pitchers that could round out the bullpen. Both are players that Texas acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both are also currently on the 40-man roster. While de Geus came via the Rule 5 draft, Sborz found his way to Texas via an under-the-radar trade involving Jhan Zambrano in return.
Therefore, it would seem likely that de Geus has a decent shot out the gate to make the team, otherwise he would have to be offered back to the Dodgers if the Rangers decided to not keep him on the 26-man roster.
On the other hand, Sborz was being groomed as a starting pitcher early in his minor league career where he threw 241 2/3 over the course of two seasons from 2016-17. However, Sborz does have options and the team could elect to start him in the minors.
If that were the case, then a player like Kolby Allard, mentioned above, could secure a bullpen role. Once again, the need for multiple players to be able to pitch multiple innings means that any of these players could have a role in the bullpen this season despite having just serviceable stuff.
While none of these names will inspire hope or incite fevered anticipation for the upcoming season, they will be necessary to ensure innings are eaten, especially in the early goings. Yet, reinforcements could be on the way as Martin, Rodríguez and Evans work to get back to full health.
What will be fun is watching young players get their chance to mark their mark, while also watching some veterans attempt to make what could be a storied comeback.
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