For Jose Leclerc, the longest-tenured Texas Ranger, Sunday’s win meant a bit more (2024)

ARLINGTON — No doubt about it, José Leclerc made clear to a gaggle of reporters stationed around his clubhouse locker on Sunday afternoon, that this one meant a little bit more.

“Today,” Leclerc said after he earned his fourth save of the season in the Rangers’ 9-8, sweep-clinching win over the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field. “Today was the best one.”

Why? Gosh, where to begin. Maybe because Leclerc began the season as the Rangers’ closer and was soon thereafter demoted? Nah, further back than that, even. Try a decade-plus.

“I’ve been with the Texas Rangers from 2010 [to now],” said Leclerc, who signed with the Rangers out of the Dominican Republic in 2010, making him the longest-tenured member of the organization on the roster. “That’s been a lot. That’s going to be the best for me, the best moment, if we can win.”

He’s talking about the World Series of course. They’re not quite there yet, but, his 16-pitch outing on Sunday gets the Rangers incrementally closer if anything. The series sweep gave the Rangers a 2.5-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West and a three-game lead over the Mariners with seven to go.

And in regards to Leclerc’s own 2023 season: To be frank, it seemed a bit improbable even two months ago that Rangers manager Bruce Bochy would be entrusting Leclerc with the ninth inning in the midst of a tightly contested playoff race.

He was demoted to a low-leverage role in May after two blown saves and erratic command in April. He inched his way back toward reliability from then on. Leclerc posted a 3.42 ERA in June, a 2.53 ERA in July and a 2.00 ERA in August, and successfully closed a win against the New York Mets on Aug. 28 — his first save opportunity since April 24.

Then came Sunday. Leclerc struck out the first two batters he faced — Teoscar Hernandez on his slider, Jared Kelenic on his fastball — before a two-out Eugenio Suarez double.

No matter. Leclerc — after his first two changeups missed wide left for balls — got Dominic Canzone to hit into an inning-ending groundout off of the cutter. First baseman Nathaniel Lowe made a diving stop to corral a 102.7-mph stinger and flipped to Leclerc covering the base for the game’s final out.

It was the 29-year-old’s second straight clutch outing in as many days; He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in Saturday’s 2-0 win and bridged the gap between starter Jordan Montgomery and closer Aroldis Chapman.

Not a full 24 hours later, Leclerc was the closer — the same position he began the season in before Bochy replaced him with Will Smith. Bochy said before Sunday’s game that Leclerc, who began the season with 36 career saves, might not have been fully recovered from a spring training neck injury by opening day; Leclerc said that he may need to readjust his offseason programming so that his body is in peak shape come March.

A story for next year, maybe. There’s still a bit of work to be done in 2023.

“He’s been pitching with confidence,” Bochy said. “He threw 18 pitches last night and we needed him to close [Sunday’s] game down, and here he was throwing 97, 98. Good stuff, good poise.”

Good? Try best stuff. Leclerc’s fastball on Sunday averaged 98.1 mph (3.1 mph faster than his season average) and peaked at 98.7 mph. His slider (85.2 mph) and changeup (90.5 mph) were each better than 2.3 mph faster than his usual velocity, too.

“My fastball was there, my command was there,” said Leclerc, who has a 1.29 ERA in his last seven appearances. “That was the best, for me, the whole year.”

Talk about ideal timing. Texas’ bullpen woes are well-documented. Heck, on Sunday, the Rangers’ relief staff had to navigate a self-created tightrope just to give Leclerc a chance to close. But, beyond that even, Smith had a 7.94 ERA in 11.1 August innings and has a 9.00 ERA in September; Chapman, for all of his electricity, can’t be used every game and had pitched Friday and Saturday.

It’s left Bochy — in a relentless scramble to piece together a working bullpen on a daily basis — to ditch traditional roles in relief. Co-closers? How about tri-closers. That’s the reality of Texas’ situation.

It’s a reality only made possible by a reclaimed Leclerc.

“We need some help down there, late in the ballgame,” Bochy said. “For him to get back there, back to his game, how he’s pitching when he’s good ... he’s back to being who he is, he wants to be out there. You can see the confidence in Jose, it’s nice to have that.”

On Twitter: @McFarland_Shawn

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