Rangers consider removing Leclerc from closer role after second blown save
The Texas Rangers have a closer problem.
Jose Leclerc blew his second save Tuesday night after allowing three runs in the ninth as the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for a 6-4 win in 11 innings.
Leclerc started the ninth with a 3-0 lead but allowed four hits, including a double and two singles to start the inning. Josh Bell’s two-run double tied the game to eventually send it to extra innings.
In the 11th, the Pirates scored three more on a solo homer from Bryan Reynolds and a two-run homer from Starling Marte. Jesse Chavez was charged with two of the three runs. An error on a fly ball by left fielder Shin-Soo Choo made one of the three runs unearned.
“He obviously feels terrible,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said of Leclerc. “He felt he let the team down. We are going to keep giving him the ball.”
Woodward, however, is considering whether to remove Leclerc from the closer role temporarily.
“Make sure some of his outings are a little less stressful,” he said. “I have full confidence he’ll rebound at some point. We are going to discuss it. I don’t want to say that just yet.”
Leclerc, who signed a four-year contract extension in March, said he hasn’t put any extra pressure on himself. But at the moment, he seems at a loss for what he’s doing differently.
“I’m working hard and I’m not doing good right now,” Leclerc said. “Whatever I try to do is not the right way. I just gotta keep working. Everything feels the same, just sometimes I don’t have the good luck to get those guys out, and sometimes I’m missing with the fastball. I don’t know.”
Leclerc’s struggles have put Woodward in a tough spot with his 25-year-old closer. He wants to show trust, but he also wants to help him build back any lost confidence. That may mean using him earlier in games and go with another closer.
“With a young guy, you don’t want to kill the kid’s confidence,” he said. “He is a great kid. He’s going to work out of this. I would love to keep giving him the ball but I have to be mindful of where his mental state is. He wants the ball but he doesn’t want to feel he’s letting his teammates down. It’s a tough situation for him.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2019 at 12:45 AM.
