José Leclerc Done as Texas Rangers Closer?
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers have long depended on José Leclerc in the back of the bullpen. Since his arrival in 2016, Leclerc immediately became a back-end option and soon the preferred closer in 2018.
But his 2019 season was disastrous and then kept him out for all of 2021. Last year was a return to form, with Leclerc becoming nearly unhittable at points and showing he could possibly be the answer at closer.
So, what is going on this season?
Leclerc has nearly as many walks (7) and he does strikeouts (9). The righty blew a save against the Kansas City Royals on April 9. He then blew another Monday against the Cincinnati Reds. And in the opener against the New York Yankees, he allowed a home run in the ninth as the Rangers were trying to stay within a run.
Texas lost 4-2, extending its season high losing streak to four. The Rangers (14-11) face the Yankees (15-11) in the second game of the series Friday night at 7:05 p.m. at Globe Life Field.
It was that moment Thursday night that it felt as if Leclerc may quickly be running off the tracks ... and out of chances.
"He made that mistake a changeup that stayed middle in," manager Bruce Bochy said. "That pitch got away from him. I thought he attacked the zone much better. Had a good fastball going.
"Overall, I was encouraged the way he threw the ball. I hated to see that for him because he is trying to get on track and we need him on track. Overall it wasn't a bad inning it was just one pitch he didn't get away with."
The issue with Leclerc is the sheer amount of mistake pitches he is making. The righty is a frustrating dichotomy of some of the nastiest stuff in the game and a high K/9 ratio, with an alarming number of walks.
As a guy trusted with high-leverage spots, keeping walks and runners off the basepaths is critical. Limiting mistake or non-competitive pitches are equally so.
Leclerc has not been effective at that this season. FIP measures walks, hit by pitches, home runs and causing strikeouts, and the MLB average is about 4.00. Leclerc's currently sits at 5.01, nearly 50 percent higher than his career FIP of 3.45.
Essentially, Leclerc is doing a poor job of keeping traffic off of the bases.
So is it time for Bochy to pull the plug on Leclerc as the closer?
Not necessarily.
Bochy clearly still has faith in him and his stuff. Being a reliever, especially a high-leverage reliever, is by nature volatile. Sometimes it's just mental. Perhaps an appearance when the game isn't on the line or the moment isn't so big could help reset Leclerc.
In fact, Bochy had Leclerc warming up in the sixth inning in the final game of the Reds series. The Rangers lost that one 5-3.
"I wanted to get him back in there," Bochy said. "It was a tight ballgame. Where they were at in the lineup, I thought it was a good time to get him back in there. Maybe not in the ninth inning in a one-run save situation.
"He's working on things, for him it would be a sense of comfort if he could go out there and regain one on the line. That's all that was."
So while it wasn't a save situation, it was still a meaningful spot in the game. In the end, it didn't matter as Leclerc was never called upon.
Still, it's telling that the preferred closer to start the season was warming up in the sixth.
As it has always been with Leclerc, he boasts flashes of absolute brilliance but comes with head-scratching moments. His stuff, when he commands it, can make him one of the most prolific back-end relievers in the game.
When he can't, his club loses ball games.
It's all about walking a fine line with Leclerc. Something his new manager is quickly learning.
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You can find Kade Kistner on Twitter @KadeKistner.
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