Tolleson out, Dyson in as Rangers closer

Shawn Tolleson was removed from the closer’s role Wednesday morning after blowing a second straight save and his fourth this season Tuesday night in the Texas Rangers’ 8-5 loss to the Oakland A’s.

Manager Jeff Banister delivered the news to Tolleson in a morning meeting at Oakland Coliseum, and handed over the ninth inning to Sam Dyson. Tolleson will continue to pitch, though earlier in games.

Tolleson, who entered Wednesday tied for the American League lead with 11 saves, wasn’t stunned by the decision. He said that he is still confident in his stuff but has lost some confidence pitching every day.

He hopes to regain it through whatever work he gets and through the Rangers continuing to win games.

“It wasn’t anything that surprised me,” Tolleson said. “More than anything else, I want to win games. I care about this team more than any team I’ve been a part of. These guys are my boys. I want to go out there and I want to be out there to battle for them in the ninth. For me, it’s me getting thrown out there in different situations to show I can earn my way back to a prominent role.”

Dyson, the hard-throwing right-hander, was the choice because of his effectiveness since coming over from Miami last year at the July 31 trade deadline — a 1.44 ERA in 50 innings — and because other candidates have more value with their ability to work multiple innings.

Left-hander Jake Diekman and right-handers Matt Bush and Tony Barnette move up in the set-up pecking order.

“We’ll make that change in the interim, I think more for Tolly,” Banister said. “It’s a tough stretch for him. It gives him an opportunity to exhale a little bit and still go pitch in different situations.

“Barnette has an ability to go one-plus. Bush has shown the ability to do that. Diekman has shown the ability to do that. When you take all factors, it just points to Dyson being the guy we’re going to give an opportunity to close out games.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Tolleson out, Dyson in as Rangers closer."