Texas Rangers Have Stealthy Closer Candidate Hiding in Bullpen Competition

The Texas Rangers need a closer. Kirby Yates has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. David Robertson doesn’t appear to be walking through the door to make a return.

President of baseball operations Chris Young said last week that the options are basically set, barring something unforeseen.

When Young has talked about the potential closer role, he’s gravitated toward veteran Chris Martin and young set-up man Robert Garcia, who was the pay-off in the Nathaniel Lowe trade. The pair have a grand total of 14 Major League saves.

No single reliever stands out in the competition to take the ball in the ninth inning. It will be up to manager Bruce Bochy, his pitching coach, Mike Maddux, and the rest of the relievers to figure it out. Bochy used a closer-by-committee approach at times in 2023 and the Rangers managed to win a World Series.

Bochy also likes to say that if any team wants to be successful it needs a “surprise or two” to emerge during spring training or during the season.

In that case, no single reliever assuming the closer role would surprise the Rangers more than Luis Curvelo.

Back in November, the Rangers signed Curvelo to an MLB deal and put him on the 40-man roster. In fact, he was the first reliever the Rangers signed. Texas did so even though Curvelo hasn’t pitched in a single Major League game.

The 24-year-old Venezuelan has been in the minor leagues his entire career, unable to break into the Majors with the Seattle Mariners and seeing his progress delayed, in part, by the COVID-19 shutdown of minor league baseball in 2020.

Yet, during the general managers’ meetings in San Antonio in November, few young pitchers were more popular than Curvelo, according to MLB.com. He was able to declare his free agency from the Mariners and signed with the Rangers.

This is a low risk move. But the payoff has potential to be huge. Curvelo has arm talent and his 2024 season at Double-A Arkansas was the sort of stuff you want from a closer or high-leverage set-up man. He went 4-0 with three saves, a 2.57 ERA in 49 appearances and 66.2 innings.

He was among Texas League pitching leaders in holds (first, 14), games (second), WHIP (third, 0.86), and ERA (11th).

It's a big jump from Double-A to the Majors. It’s been done, but it’s especially difficult for pitchers, who typically need a year in Triple-A to acclimate properly. Curvelo has never pitched in Triple-A.

But, in a wide-open bullpen race, Curvelo will get every chance to impress. Don’t be surprised if he gets some ninth-inning work in spring training.

If any pitcher is liable to surprise the Rangers as a potential closer, it’s Curvelo.