Texas Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy: No Rush To Define Bullpen Roles
SURPRISE, Ariz. — You don't put Bruce Bochy in a corner.
The Texas Rangers manager is in no rush to start throwing out designated reliever roles for his revamped bullpen.
He'd rather let the spring unfold and allow someone to earn the job before christening a closer, set-up man or long reliever.
Most importantly, Bochy has more enticing options than a year ago.
Jose Leclerc, who finished the season and postseason as the club's primary closer, does have the inside track to reclaim that role, Bochy reluctantly acknowledged.
The offseason acquisitions of David Robertson and Kirby Yates, however, give Leclerc some competition.
"I think when we leave here, we'll have a guy who'll get most of the closing opportunities early," Bochy said. "But [the added options] are going to enable us to keep these guys fresh because they all want to be out there. They thrive on [high-leverage] situations, so it's important that they're all used in the seventh, eighth, and ninth."
Those four are likely to see most of the action from the backend of the bullpen. The other reliever spots are less clear, but middle relievers such as Brock Burke and potential starters Cody Bradford and Danny Duffy seem likely bullpen arms. Most of the six remaining spots on the 13-man bullpen will be a spring fight among Grant Anderson, Owen White, Cole Winn, and a host of non-roster invitees.
The Rangers had the second-most blown saves in 2023 with 34. They still won 90 games and won their first World Series. Leclerc and Sborz both came up huge in the postseason to close out games. Robertson and Yates are both experienced high-leverage relievers. Robertson has 175 career saves, and Yates had a league-high 41 saves for the Padres in 2019.
Both Robertson and Yates reiterated Sunday morning they are fine being used in any role Bochy deems necessary.
"As we go through spring training, we'll see how the guys are doing," Bochy said. "We had to make adjustments last year, and you're always having to adjust on the fly. I do think we have a little bit more stability this year as we go into the spring training games. Hopefully, everybody stays healthy, and we will be stronger as we start the season this year."
Just don't ask Bochy to declare a closer just yet.
"You've got to look at David [Robertson], you got to look at Yates and Sbortz," he said. "We've got high-leverage guys down there, and they can help each other out, so I'm not going to get penciled in on exactly what the pecking order is because they're all really good relievers with really good resumes. They'll all be used late in the ballgame."
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