Jose LeClerc made the game Sunday quite interesting. I cannot say that it was him alone either, but as a closer, you can’t leave the game with one out to go and bases loaded. The Rangers eventually won when Shawn Kelly was able to get the last out.
“They have to have something on him, because he’s not getting the chase on those borderline pitches that he normally does with his changeup,” Woodward said according to Texasrangers.com. “We thought something was going on before, that teams had something on him as far as tipping his pitches. I believe that, because guys are dead on his fastball and not swinging at his changeup. You saw the results last year, when you don’t know it’s coming.”
Whether it is tipping pitches or just not being effective, LeClerc is not pitching like a lights out closer right now. He is sitting at a 7.88 ERA in 2019 so far. That is not the ERA that you want your starter to have.
Chris Woodward has said that the team is staying with LeClerc as their closer, and I believe that is the right call. It is too early in the season to remove a guy from that position, but I would keep a very close eye on him going forward. If it’s a week from now and the guy still can’t get outs, it will be time to explore other options. For example Kelly has a 1.80 ERA in ten innings pitched, Kyle Dowdy has a 3.48 in 10.1 innings pitched, Jeffrey Springs has a 4.15 and so on.
With a record of 12-8, the Rangers are currently sitting in third place in the West, only 1.5 games out of first. Not where many people expected them to be at this point of the season. Texas has eight games left in April, and I would be surprised if they finish April much above .500. The Rangers have Oakland, Seattle and Pittsburgh to finish out April.
