Texas Rangers’ fears about Jose Leclerc’s injury confirmed. He’s having elbow surgery.
The biggest Texas Rangers news Monday was the announcement by president of baseball operations Jon Daniels that infielder Rougned Odor would not be on the Opening Day roster and would soon be out of the organization.
Lost in the buzz was another significant piece of news, delivered moments later by general manager Chris Young. Right-hander Jose Leclerc is having Tommy John surgery Tuesday and will miss the 2021 season.
Leclerc, who was projected to have many save opportunities this season, was injured during a March 18 outing, and the Rangers were bracing for the worst almost immediately.
He returned to Texas for an exam with team physician Dr. Keith Meister that confirmed a tear to the ulnar collateral ligament. Leclerc, who missed almost all of last season because of a tear in his shoulder, might not be available until midway through the 2022 season.
The Rangers will also be without righty Jonathan Hernandez, who is also dealing with an elbow injury. He hasn’t thrown for a month and will undergo another MRI exam next week to determine his next steps.
The hope is he avoids surgery, but the best-case scenario for his return is June.
Leclerc and Hernandez are candidates to be placed on the 60-day injured list, which would create two openings on the 40-man roster. Those would be filled by righties Ian Kennedy and Matt Bush, who made the team as non-roster players and will share closing duties to start the season.
