Leclerc allowed one hit but otherwise pitched a clean ninth inning with two strikeouts to earn the save over the Mariners on Sunday.
Leclerc allowed a two-out double to Eugenio Suarez but otherwise made easy work of the Mariner hitters. He's found himself in a high-leverage role over the last two weeks and has two saves and three holds in last six appearances. Before this recent stretch, Leclerc had just two saves and four holds in 48 appearances. It seems he's earned manager Bruce Bochy's trust, and rightfully so, as he now owns a 2.85 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 62:27 K:BB in 53.2 innings.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Perfect for third save
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Leclerc picked up the save Tuesday against the Red Sox. He struck out one over a perfect inning.
Leclerc was handed the ball for the ninth inning Tuesday, following up Aroldis Chapman's 1.2 shutout innings, and delivered his third save of the season. He bounced back from a blown save in his last appearance and appears to still be in contention with Chapman and Will Smith for ninth-inning duties. In 52 appearances this season, Leclerc owns a 2.98 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 58:27 K:BB.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Grabs second save
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Leclerc picked up the save in Monday's 4-3 win over the Mets. He walked one while striking out two over a scoreless inning.
With Will Smith and Aroldis Chapman each having pitched Sunday, Leclerc was called upon to pitch the ninth Monday with a one-run lead. The 29-year-old right-hander worked around a two-out walk to earn his second save of the year, his first since April 5. Leclerc has been a steady presence in the Rangers' bullpen of late, delivering eight consecutive scoreless appearances (8.2 innings) while earning more high-leverage opportunities. His ERA is down to 2.51 with a 1.12 WHIP and 47:21 K:BB across 43 innings this season.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Quietly pitching well
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Leclerc struck out two over a scoreless relief inning in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Twins.
The Rangers' bullpen has been shaky during the team's seven-game losing streak, and it blew another lead Thursday. None of that is on Leclerc, the one-time closer who has a 1.53 ERA over 17.2 innings since coming off the injured list in early July. More importantly, he's limited his bases on balls with just four walks (2.0 BB/9) during that stretch. Before landing on the IL, Leclerc walked 15 batters over 25 innings (5.4 BB/9). If Texas manager Bruce Bochy moves on from Will Smith as the team's closer, Aroldis Chapman could emerge as the primary closer, but Leclerc's sterling work could put him back into high-leverage consideration.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Continues good relief work
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Leclerc struck out one over a scoreless eighth inning in Monday's 3-2 win over Tampa Bay.
Leclerc and Aroldis Chapman teamed up for two perfect innings of relief while the Rangers plated a run in the bottom of the ninth for the win. Leclerc, who was removed from the closer's role earlier this season, has quietly put together a stretch of strong work out of the bullpen. The right-hander has a 1.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 15 strikeouts and five walks over the last 14.1 innings. Control has always been the issue for Leclerc, but he hasn't walked a batter in his last five appearances.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Activated from injured list
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Leclerc (ankle) was activated from the 15-day injured list Thursday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Leclerc missed the last two weeks of action with a sprained right ankle but was able to make a couple rehab appearances without issue. The 29-year-old should primarily work as part of the bridge to closer Will Smith.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Begins rehab assignment
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Leclerc (ankle) was assigned to Double-A Frisco on Sunday to begin a rehab assignment.
The 29-year-old landed on the shelf with a right ankle sprain June 21, and his quick return to game action indicates the injury was never a serious concern. Leclerc will be eligible to be reinstated from the injured list Thursday.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Lands on injured list
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The Rangers placed Leclerc on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a sprained right ankle, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Leclerc has been solid out of the bullpen this season for Texas with a 3.42 ERA and 1.35 WHIP through 23.2 innings. He'll now be shelved for at least 15 days while Yerry Rodriguez comes up from Triple-A Round Rock to replace Leclerc in the bullpen.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Used in long relief
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Leclerc allowed one hit and struck out two over 2.2 scoreless innings in Sunday's 7-3 loss to Tampa Bay.
Leclerc, pitching for the first time in eight days, came on in the fourth inning after the Rays chased starter Martin Perez. Leclerc opened the season as the Rangers' closer, but has dropped to a middle-long relief role. He hasn't allowed a run over his last seven innings, but manager Bruce Bochy continues to use other arms when games are on the line.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Earns sketchy hold
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Leclerc allowed two hits and one walk over one-third of an inning to get a hold in Wednesday's 3-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Leclerc had made a stretch of low-leverage appearances before getting the call to pitch the eighth inning of a one-run game Wednesday. He retired the first batter then allowed the next three to reach, and he was removed after 16 pitches (eight strikes). Closer Will Smith escaped from the frame unscathed and returned for the ninth inning to complete a five-out save.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Will work in low-leverage spots
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Leclerc allowed one run on two hits while striking out one over one inning in Sunday's 16-8 win over the Angels.
Leclerc worked the final inning and ceded a solo home run to Hunter Renfroe. The one-time closer will be used in low-leverage situations, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, and they don't get much lower than pitching with your team leading by nine runs to begin the ninth inning. Will Smith has taken over as the team's primary closer.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Short stint in loss
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Leclerc allowed two runs on two walks and one hit over a one-third of an inning in Wednesday's 12-7 loss to the Diamondbacks.
On the day manager Bruce Bochy anointed Will Smith the team's sole closer, Leclerc had the kind of effort that reinforced the manager's decision. He walked the first two batters faced, the second of which produced the go-ahead run charged to Josh Sborz. A couple of batters later -- a sacrifice fly and a single -- and Leclerc's night was done. Leclerc has issued a passel of walks to start the season -- nine over 10 innings -- but until Wednesday, they hadn't hurt him.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Part of bullpen meltdown
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Leclerc (0-1) allowed three walks and an unearned run over a third of an inning, picking up the loss in Monday's game against the Reds.
The base on balls -- an old Leclerc bugaboo -- reared itself once again. With the Rangers up, 6-4, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Leclerc entered a bases-loaded, two-out situation and promptly walked the first two batters faced (11 pitches, three strikes). He was eventually pulled after walking the first batter faced in the bottom of the ninth on four pitches. That run came home to score, in part due to a wild pitch by Will Smith, which made it unearned. The blown save was Leclerc's second of the season and second in as many outings.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Shuts door Friday
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Leclerc pitched a perfect ninth inning in Friday's 6-2 win over Houston.
Leclerc had been warming up when the Rangers plated an insurance run, making it a non-save situation. Still, it was a nice bounce back for Leclerc, who blew a save in his previous outing Tuesday versus the Royals.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Picks up first save
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Leclerc picked up the save after striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning during Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Orioles.
Leclerc got the call in the ninth after Will Smith, who picked up the Rangers' first save opportunity Sunday against Philadelphia, worked 1.1 innings following Jacob deGrom's start. It appears Leclerc and Smith are going to split closing opportunities to open the season, which would seem to limit both players' overall fantasy upside. Leclerc now has two strikeouts across two scoreless innings to start the year.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Still in closer mix
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Texas manager Bruce Bochy told his bullpen on Opening Day that Leclerc would be the closer to start the season, but the manager called on Will Smith to close out Sunday's win over the Phillies, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Smith said he was surprised to get the call Sunday, given what Bochy had told members of the bullpen days earlier. The manager talked about bullpen versatility, indicating he could use any of his closer candidates in any situation. "It's a very versatile bullpen where I can use them in the fifth, sixth or high-leverage situations in the eighth and ninth," Bochy said. "It's a fun bullpen. Balance with the lefties and righties... there may be times where really all of them could [close] at some point." It appears Leclerc remains in the mix for saves, but Bochy may not have one set closer.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: First in line to close
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Leclerc is likely to see the save opportunity for the Rangers should one arise Thursday against the Phillies, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Leclerc has been seen as the favorite to close for a while, but his velocity was down this spring and manager Bruce Bochy had hedged his bets previously. However, it does appear the right-hander is indeed at the top of the pecking order. Will Smith, Jonathan Hernandez and Ian Kennedy could be options to close if Leclerc stumbles.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Throws back-to-back days
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Leclerc struck out two over a scoreless inning in a Double-A game Thursday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Leclerc threw on back-to-back days for the first time this spring then dismissed any concerns over his decrease in velocity. "It's the same thing every year in spring training for me," the right-hander said. "But during the season, it picks up. It will be alright." Leclerc's fastball is living in the 92-93 mph range this spring after averaging over 96 mph in 2022. He remains the leading candidate to close games for the Rangers.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Escapes jam, creates another
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Leclerc allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three over 1.1 scoreless relief innings in Thursday's spring game against the Dodgers.
Leclerc entered in the eighth inning and extricated the Rangers from a jam created by Marc Church. An inning later, Texas' probable closer had to escape a bases-loaded jam of his own making. The right-hander appears to be over the neck injury that paused his spring development for a week and has yet to allow a run over 4.1 Cactus League innings.
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Rangers' Jose Leclerc: Makes 'B' game appearance
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Leclerc (neck) threw 14 pitches in a scoreless inning in a "B" game Tuesday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Leclerc allowed a bloop double but nothing else and his neck injury did not hinder him at all in the appearance. The reliever would seem to be ready for a Cactus League appearance next, although that hasn't been confirmed. Leclerc is competing for the Rangers' closer job and, if healthy, might be the favorite to win it.
