Archive for Rangers

In Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, Chris Martin had just his second chance for a save since Jose Leclerc was moved out of the closer’s role nearly three weeks ago. Martin was working with just a 3-2 lead, and after Dexter Fowler launched a one-out solo homer, that lead was gone. Even though that was the only hit Martin allowed, already the clock is ticking on his time as closer.

That, however, has more to do with the recent improvements Leclerc has made. He was spotless in pitching the fifth and sixth innings on Sunday, striking out five of the six batters he faced, and Leclerc has induced swings-and-misses on 11 (or 20.4 percent) of his last 54 pitches. When asked about Leclerc’s proximity to getting back his old ninth-inning job, Chris Woodward replied, “he’s real close.” If Leclerc does not get the Rangers’ next save chance, it sure sounds as if he may get the one after that.
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Remember when Joe Maddon had said that virtually every reliever in his bullpen could get a crack at some saves, with Pedro Strop (hamstring) on the IL? I’m starting to get a little skeptical.

Steve Cishek pitched a perfect ninth inning to close out the Cubs’ 4-1 win over the Brewers on Sunday night, and he has been Maddon’s choice to pitch in both save opportunities that have arisen since Strop sustained his injury. Maddon did show an openness to use other relievers in a closer-type situation on Saturday, when he summoned Brandon Kintzler and Kyle Ryan to pitch the top of the ninth in a 1-1 tie (with Cishek coming in for the 10th inning). However, it is looking clear that Cishek is Maddon’s preferred choice to close in Strop’s absence. For now, I am still designating the Cubs’ situation as a committee.
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Heading into Tuesday night’s game with the Pirates, Jose Leclerc had not pitched in a high-leverage situation in nine days. His two most recent appearances occurred in blowouts, as he tried to work out the command issues that had plagued him for much of the season. Chris Woodward ended Leclerc’s sabbatical from closing on Tuesday night, deploying him in a save situation, as the Rangers held a 3-0 lead going into the top of the ninth.

Leclerc had actually been highly effective against righties this season, holding them to a .130 Avg prior to Tuesday, but to shut down the Pirates, he had to run the gauntlet of switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker and left-handed Adam Frazier. He did not retire any of them, and Frazier’s single scored Reynolds, cutting the Rangers’ lead to two runs. Leclerc was on the verge of getting out of the jam, striking out Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco in succession, but Josh Bell (another switch-hitter) laced a game-tying double into left center. Fortunately for Leclerc, Bell unsuccessfully tried to extend the double into a triple, so he avoided further damage.
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Ken Giles‘ nearly perfect season finally hit a snag on Thursday night. Through his first six appearances, the Blue Jays’ closer had not allowed a run through 5.2 innings, and the only baserunners he put on were by way of two singles, a double and a walk. In appearance number seven, Giles started off the bottom of the ninth inning against the Red Sox by getting Andrew Benintendi to ground out, but that would be the last out he would get. After walking Mookie Betts and giving up a Mitch Moreland RBI double, the Blue Jays’ 6-5 lead had vanished.

Then Giles intentionally walked J.D. Martinez, but it backfired, as he loaded the bases with an unintentional walk to Xander Bogaerts and coughed up Rafael Devers‘ walk-off single. Devers’ chopper had an xBA of .100, but he wouldn’t have been in a position to win the game if Giles hadn’t issued three walks, two of which were unintentional. Walks have generally not been an issue for Giles the last couple of seasons, and he has been good at inducing out-of-zone chases throughout his career. Despite the poor results on Thursday night, there is no reason for Giles’ owners to panic.
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We often begin this column with the grisly details of the latest reliever meltdown. So why not start things off this time with some good news?

A pair of closers who had forgettable 2018 seasons are off to a nice start in 2019. Ken Giles recorded his third save in as many tries on Tuesday, securing the Blue Jays’ 7-5 win over the Red Sox. He has yet to allow a run in 5.2 innings, though this appearance was a little more eventful than his past ones from this season. Giles issued his first walk of the year, which came on the heels of a Dustin Pedroia leadoff single. Then he needed all of three pitches to retire Blake Swihart and Andrew Benintendi, and after going to a full count on Mookie Betts, Giles finished him off by getting him to chase a low slider.
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Earlier this offseason, it appeared as if Jose Leclerc might get traded rather than be a part of a rebuilding Rangers squad. Then new manager Chris Woodward was reportedly thinking of using his incumbent closer in a variety of relief roles. Now we know that Leclerc isn’t going anywhere — not to another team and not to another role — as Woodward named him as the team’s closer.

If the Rangers fall out of contention as expected, teams will certainly be calling about Leclerc. Also, while Leclerc was one of the best relievers in the majors last season, he is only two years removed from an astronomical 20.0 percent walk rate. As great as Leclerc was in 2018, it is still worth our while to venture out further into the bullpen to see who might have value in 2019.
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Even though this year’s Winter Meetings were slow prior to Thursday’s three-team deal involving the Mariners, Indians and Rays, the Rangers’ signing of Lance Lynn has yet to receive much attention. Lynn’s $30 million deal over three years pales in comparison on an annual basis to the contracts recently inked by Nathan Eovaldi, J.A. Happ and Charlie Morton. Given Lynn’s 4.77 ERA compiled with the Twins and Yankees in 2018, it’s no surprise that Lynn is drawing less interest than his free agent counterparts in the real and fantasy worlds.
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In most drafts, I hit a point where I look at my queue and the remaining player pool, and I’m not excited about any of my options. I am currently participating in one of Justin Mason’s 2EarlyMock drafts, and as we enter the final rounds, I have yet to have that feeling. A number of players went in the middle rounds whom I had stashed in my queue several rounds before they were taken. The ones that I drafted felt like tremendous bargains, and the ones that I missed left me envious.
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As is usually the case, the selection of streamable starting pitchers is much heavier on risk than reward, but there is actually a widely-available starter who looks like a pretty safe bet to help your rotation. It’s Felix Pena, who is unowned in at least 85 percent of the leagues on ESPN, CBS and Yahoo and more than 75 percent of Fantrax leagues. In a column I wrote just last week, I made the case for viewing Pena as Patrick Corbin Lite.
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A few closers took steps toward making fantasy owners more comfortable on Thursday night, but some of the bigger bullpen developments took place before the ninth inning. Still, saves are what we care the most about in fantasy, so let’s start there. Wade Davis had his third consecutive scoreless outing, and in allowing nothing more than a Freddie Freeman single, he preserved the Rockies’ 5-3 lead against the Braves. This was his first save since giving up a pair of homers and taking a loss against the Dodgers exactly one week earlier. Like Davis, Jose Leclerc worked around a leadoff hit to notch a save, as he closed out the Rangers’ 8-6 win over the Angels.

The most notable save, though, was Koda Glover’s against the Cardinals, as it was his first save opportunity since being named as the Nationals’ closer in the wake of Ryan Madson (back) going on the DL. Glover raised the degree of difficulty on his inning by allowing a two-out Jose Martinez single and then walking Matt Carpenter, which put the tying run in scoring position. The drama was short-lived, as Yadier Molina flied out on the first pitch he saw from Glover.
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