Texas Rangers Reliever Jose Leclerc 'Derailed' After Awful Outing
José Leclerc will no longer get the majority of the save opportunities for the Texas Rangers, but that doesn’t mean that his troubles are over.
Leclerc’s 1/3-inning stint against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 12-7 loss Wednesday spotlighted why Rangers manager Bruce Bochy pivoted to Will Smith as the primary closer.
Leclerc will get more chances to pitch. But, right now, the focus is on getting him “right,” as Bochy said.
“It’s obvious he’s gotten derailed here,” Bochy said. “We need to get him back on track.”
Leclerc entered Wednesday’s game in the seventh inning and inherited a mess from Josh Sborz, who gave up a Corbin Carroll single, a Ketel Marte walk and an RBI single by Emmanuel Rivera.
Leclerc didn’t put out the fire. He walked Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Christian Walker back-to-back on eight straight balls. The Gurriel walk loaded the bases and Walker brought in a run, which broke a 7-7 tie.
Josh Rojas drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to push the Diamondbacks’ lead to 9-7. Leclerc then gave up an RBI single to Dominic Fletcher to make it 10-7.
That led Bochy to pull Leclerc for Ian Kennedy. But Bochy did have a message for Leclerc as he left the mound.
“He’s going through a tough time right now,” Bochy said. “We all go through that and he needs our support right now. He’s out there trying and he feels awful. I know who he is and I know enough to know that he cares.”
This isn’t the only time Leclerc has had problems. On Thursday against the New York Yankees, he gave up a late home run that sealed the victory for New York. Three days earlier, Leclerc blew his second save of the season at Cincinnati with a 1/3 inning stint in which he walked three hitters.
Walks have been Leclerc’s biggest issue so far, and it’s been a recurrent issue in his career. Leclerc has walked multiple hitters in three games and he’s given up eight walks in 10 appearances.
It’s enough to give Bochy concern.
“I think you have to be (worried) a little bit,” Bochy said. “He threw hard but he had trouble finding the strike zone. The last time he was out I felt like he was coming along but today it just got away from him.”
But Bochy still sees Leclerc as part of the plan long-term. Leclerc has good stuff and Bochy believes Leclerc has the stuff to pitch in high-leverage situations, whether it be in the ninth or earlier.
But, right now, there are things the pitcher has to fix.
“The last thing he wanted to do was coming in and walk two guys and walk in a run and give up a base hit,” Bochy said. “He’s had some tough outings this year. He’s going to be a big part of this but we have to get him right. That’s our job.”
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