SEATTLE — While the Rangers front office hunkers down to consider creative ways to acquire controllable starting pitching from a market that seems to be growing by the day, they may want to also consider the end of games, too.
The Rangers, drowning in one-run losses, could use a steady closer.
Because if the Rangers’ ultimate goal remains winning a world championship — even if the focus is quickly turning toward 2023 and beyond — there is one thing world champions tend to have in common: reliability at the end of a game.
“I’d say that’s pretty fair,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “I don’t see too many teams that don’t have that part. They have a dedicated guy and he’s usually, really, really good. They just stabilize everything.”
The Rangers don’t have a steady closer. They don’t have a stable bullpen. It was evident again in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to Seattle in which Woodward stuck with starter Jon Gray in the seventh against rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez only to have Rodriguez hit a game-changing three-run homer on the one slider that slipped out of the pitcher’s hand. The alternative had been turn to a bullpen that has made a mess of everything it’s touched lately.
And you could make the argument that when Joe Barlow, who got the first shot at closing this year, started to struggle as the closer, everything else fell apart.
Since July 4, when Barlow suffered the first of two blown saves on back-to-back days, leading to his removal from the role, the bullpen had a 5.82 ERA with four saves in nine chances. That included a blown save Tuesday by Brett Martin, who is the latest to be “removed” from the role, if, in fact, he ever held it. Martin converted three saves but has struggled since the All-Star break.
Woodward said Wednesday morning that he’d likely turn to matchups to dictate ninth-inning usage moving forward. To wit: Martin pitched in the seventh Wednesday. Woodward could give opportunities to Dennis Santana, who has struggled lately, or Matt Bush, who failed to hold the closer’s spot in 2017 and is now 36 years old. He could eventually look at Jonathan Hernandez, perhaps the hardest thrower in the bullpen, who is not even a month back from Tommy John surgery.
A major concern: There aren’t enough swing-and-miss pitchers in the bullpen. Closers need to strike hitters out in big moments. The Rangers’ relievers rank 23rd in strikeout percentage among big league bullpens.
The Rangers have converted 21 of 38 saves. They were 27th in the majors in save percentage (55%) and tied for the most blown saves (17).
It’s been an ongoing trend. They have been a bottom-tier team in save efficiency in the four seasons under Woodward, ranking 20th at 61%. But transiency in the back of the bullpen extends well beyond Woodward’s arrival.
The Rangers have not had a repeat leader in team saves since Joe Nathan in 2012-13. No matter who ends up leading the team this year, the streak will extend to nine years since Ian Kennedy led the 2021 team with 16 saves. Barlow is the current leader with 13; Martin, with three, is the only other pitcher with multiple saves.
It makes it clear the Rangers don’t have a burgeoning closer option at the major league level. Perhaps for a team that is currently 11 games under .500 and sinking fast, thinking about closers is a little bit like dreaming about what you’d do if you won the $1.02 billion Mega Millions Lotto.
But with Tuesday’s trade deadline looming, the Rangers are discussing needs for the future and a closer is one of those.
Of the deadline, the Rangers “general focus has been on the pitching side,” president of baseball operations Jon Daniels said earlier in the week.
According to reports Wednesday, Cleveland (Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale) and the Houston Astros (Jose Urquidy) have both indicated they would be willing to talk about some of their wealth of controllable starting pitching. They would add to a market that includes Cincinnati’s duo of Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle and Oakland’s Frankie Montas.
A closer isn’t a likely addition now. But if the Rangers acquire a starter before the deadline and another in free agency, finishing out a contending team might well require going out and investing in one.
