Yankees Interested In Andrew Benintendi, David Peralta
5:18PM: The Yankees have also been scouting Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes, with Nightengale describing Peralta as a “fallback option” if Benintendi isn’t acquired. Peralta is also a free agent after the season, and is hitting .245/.312/.460 with 11 home runs through 263 PA.
9:13AM: The Yankees and Royals have recently held talks around a trade that would send outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Bronx, according to a report from Jon Heyman and Dan Martin of the New York Post. They add that the Yanks are simultaneously trying to work out a separate trade that would send outfielder Joey Gallo out of town.
Benintendi is one of the more obvious trade candidates, and this isn’t the first time his name has popped up in rumors. Since he’s having a good year on a noncompetitive team and is set to reach free agency at season’s end, everything seems to be lining up for a deal between now and the August 2 deadline. As such, MLBTR recently placed him #2 on our list of trade candidates. Back in June, it was reported that the Royals were actively seeking a buyer for the outfielder, with the Blue Jays reportedly showing interest.
The Yankees have been the best team in baseball this year and are therefore the most obvious of deadline buyers. As a team with a 61-24 record, they don’t have many holes, but one area they seem to be interesting in improving is the outfield, by swapping in Benintendi or some other deadline acquisition for Gallo. Reports from earlier this month indicated the Yankees were looking to upgrade on Gallo in some way.
The fact that Gallo has been a disappointment in the Bronx is well-known to Yankee fans, as his production has cratered since coming over from the Rangers in a deal last year. Prior to the deal, Gallo was well-established as one of baseball’s most fearsome sluggers. In the four full season from 2017 to 2021, Gallo put up 38 home runs or more in three of them. In 2019, he was limited to 70 games but still hit 22 long balls. His wRC+ was between 108 and 144 in each of those four seasons, indicating he was between 8% and 44% better than league average. 2020 was a disappointing campaign but under the strange circumstances of the pandemic season, and he seemed to bounce right back in 2021. In his time with the Rangers last year, he hit 25 home runs in 95 games and was slashing .233/.379/.490 for a wRC+ of 139. After the deal, though, he hit just .160/.303/.404, 95 wRC+. That’s carried over into this season, as he’s hitting .166/.288/.341 on the year, producing a wRC+ of just 84. After almost a year of subpar production, it seems the Yanks are willing to move on. MLBTR placed Gallo at #39 on the aforementioned list of trade candidates.
Benintendi is having a much better season than Gallo, though in a very different style. In contrast to Gallo’s high-powered, high-strikeout approach, Benintendi would bring a more contact-oriented profile. His 14.2% strikeout rate is well below the 22.2% league average and far lower than the 38.3% rate Gallo has on the year. However, he’s hit just three homers on the season, compared to Gallo’s ten. All told, Benintendi is slashing .317/.387/.402 for a wRC+ of 128, a significant upgrade on Gallo’s 84.
Salary wise, swapping in Benintendi for Gallo wouldn’t make a huge difference for the Yanks. Both players are impending free agents, with Benintendi making $8.5MM and Gallo $10.275MM. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource calculates the Yankees’ CBT number to be $262MM at the moment, placing them beyond the $250MM second threshold but shy of the $270MM third threshold.
The Royals will have no interest in Gallo, of course. As a rebuilding team currently sporting a 31-52 record, they will be looking for long-term assets, either prospects or perhaps players recently reaching the majors. That leaves the Yankees to figure out who wants to take a shot on Gallo and hope for a bounceback. If a team wanted to convince themselves that Gallo was due for a turnaround, they could perhaps look at his HR/FB rate. It’s 17.5% this year, well below his career rate of 27% and his single-season career high of 37.3% in 2019. However, his Statcast page is a real mixed bag, with Gallo still capable of hitting the ball very hard, though not with enough frequency. His max exit velocity is in the 90th percentile, but his average exit velocity is just in the 40th. Any team acquiring him would have to hope for a bit more consistency, with that average exit velocity ticking up from this year’s 88.6 mph towards the 93-95 mph range of his better seasons.
The report from Heyman and Martin suggests the Yankees’ best bet would be teams run by his former bosses in Texas. There’s the Rangers themselves, who are within four games of a playoff spot and could consider doing some buying. Seeing them go after a rental like Gallo would be surprising, though, as this is the first year of what the club hopes to be a multi-year competitive window. Players with a bit more control would be more obvious fits, though perhaps the Yankees are motivated enough to move on from Gallo that they package him with someone else or eat part of his salary. In the short-term, there’s certainly room for Gallo, given the club’s roster. The Rangers have been featuring an outfield mix of Adolis Garcia, Kole Calhoun, Brad Miller and Leody Taveras in recent days. Miller is having an even worse year than Gallo, slashing .210/.261/.347 for a wRC+ of 73. The club has also been featuring Mitch Garver at designated hitter most of the time, but he’s going to undergo season-ending surgery tomorrow.
There’s also the Padres, whose president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was in the Rangers’ front office when Gallo was drafted. They have been looking for outfield help for a while and have been snakebit by injuries to Wil Myers and Jurickson Profar. Nomar Mazara has stepped up and filled one spot admirably, but they’re still getting subpar production from Trent Grisham and Jose Azocar. Myers is nearing a return but was having a dismal campaign before landing on the injured list, meaning there’s no guarantee he’ll fix things once healthy. Despite those outfield struggles, the club is 49-37 and currently in possession of an NL Wild Card spot, making them clear deadline buyers.
There’s also the financial situation to consider with the Padres, as they are right up against the luxury tax and seem loath to cross it for a second straight year. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource calculates their CBT number to be $228.9, just shy of the $230MM first threshold. They have been trying to trade Myers and Eric Hosmer to get rid of some salary for quite some time, though without success thus far. They have also reportedly been considering trading a starting pitcher for the same reasons, with Blake Snell standing out as perhaps the most viable option. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a detailed look at the situation. It would be a surprise for the Padres to create that breathing room and then use it on a dice roll like Gallo as opposed to someone currently having success. Though Preller has shown a tendency towards acquiring former Rangers like Profar, Mazara and Yu Darvish, meaning it can’t be completely discounted.
Mitch Garver To Undergo Season-Ending Forearm Surgery
Rangers catcher Mitch Garver will undergo surgery to repair his injured flexor tendon on Monday morning, reports Levi Weaver of The Athletic. This surgery will wipe out the remainder of his season.
The fact that Garver requires the surgery isn’t shocking, as the issue has been known for some time. He has been playing through the injury, able to hit but not throw. He’s played exclusively as a designated hitter or pinch hitter over the past couple months, with his last appearance behind the dish coming on May 8.
Garver spoke to reporters about the situation a few weeks ago, noting that the surgery was inevitable. The only question was about the timing. Since the estimated recovery time for the surgery is 7-8 months, Garver and the Rangers had to decide on one of two courses of action. In one scenario, Garver would play out the remainder of the season hurt and then get surgery in the offseason. That would mean missing part of the 2023 campaign while recuperating. The second course of action would mean getting surgery sooner, in order to hopefully be fully healthy before next season. It seems they have now decided on the latter option.
This is surely a disappointing turn of events for the Rangers, who acquired Garver from the Twins in the offseason trade that sent Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Twins (who later traded him to the Yankees). Despite the injury, Garver has still been able to hit at an above-average rate, slashing .212/.292/.419 coming into tonight’s game. That amounts to a wRC+ of 103, or 3% above league average, but it’s a far cry from the .256/.358/.517 he put up last year, producing a 137 wRC+. He’ll now miss the final few months of the season while rehabbing.
The lack of Garver shouldn’t totally decimate the Rangers’ season, as Garver’s absence has been filled by the breakout season of Jonah Heim. Acquired from the A’s in the trade that sent Elvis Andrus to Oakland, Heim is hitting .257/.312/.480 on the year for a wRC+ of 125. When combined with his defensive contributions, he’s already produced 1.9 fWAR on the year.
Both Garver and Heim are still under team control next year, giving the club a powerful two-headed catching duo once Garver is healthy. Garver hits right-handed and Heim is a switch-hitter, making it possible that both of them get regular playing time in a platoon, with each of them also getting occasional turns as the designated hitter. Garver will be in his final season of control, making him a potential trade candidate in the offseason, with the club then turning the job over to Heim going forward. However, the uncertainty around Garver’s health will be an obstacle to the Rangers finding a deal to their liking.
Trade Rumors: Gallen, Bumgarner, Cano, Perez
Despite rival teams’ interest in Zac Gallen, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Diamondbacks right-hander is “not going anywhere.” This isn’t the first time Gallen’s name has surfaced in trade rumors, and after an injury-marred 2021 season, Gallen has re-established himself with some very solid numbers this season. Beyond just his ability, Gallen is also arbitration-controlled through the 2025 season, making it obvious both why other teams would want to acquire him, and why the D’Backs would want to keep him. Though it is increasingly looking like the D’Backs will be sellers again at the deadline, the club has been resistant to moving cornerstone players and going into rebuild mode — Ketel Marte (another popular trade candidate) was even signed to an extension back in March.
One player the D’Backs “would love to move” is Madison Bumgarner, Nightengale notes, but that is a tougher sell to suitors. After signing a five-year, $85MM deal with the Diamondbacks in December 2019, Bumgarner endured two rough seasons before bouncing back to more decent form thus far in 2022. However, it will take more than just decent numbers for Arizona to entice another team into taking on even a decent-sized chunk of the approximately $48.4MM still owed to Bumgarner through the 2024 season. Also, Bumgarner has a five-team no-trade clause, though the five teams on his current list aren’t known.
More trade buzz from around the league…
- Also from Nightengale, Robinson Cano has been some getting some attention, as the veteran slugger tries to revive his career with the Padres‘ Triple-A team. Cano was suspended for the entire 2021 season and has posted only a .371 OPS over 77 plate appearances with the Padres and Mets this season, though he has been hitting well in the (batter-friendly) environment of Triple-A El Paso. Since either the Padres or a new team would owe Cano only the prorated portion of a minimum salary if he made a big league roster, Cano could be an interesting trade chip for any team that wants to take a flier on the former All-Star. From San Diego’s perspective, they probably wouldn’t expect much for Cano in return, or they could hypothetically include him as a part of a larger trade package.
- Martin Perez makes some sense as a sell-high trade candidate for the Rangers, though both Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney feel it might be more likely that Texas keeps the veteran lefty and even looks to extend him into at least the 2023 season. Perez is enjoying a career year, with a 2.34 ERA over an even 100 innings, and a generally positive set of advanced metrics indicating that his performance isn’t a fluke. Perez has helped keep the Rangers on the outskirts of the wild card race, so if Texas can string together some wins in July, the team might not be selling at the deadline whatsoever.
Outrights: Eickhoff, Evans
A couple of updates on players recently designated for assignment…
- Right-handed pitcher Jerad Eickhoff was outrighted by the Pirates earlier this week. As a player who had previously been outrighted in his career, he had the right to reject that outright assignment and elect free agency. However, Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relayed last night that Eickhoff was with Triple-A Indianapolis, indicated he’s accepted. He started last night’s game for Indy, throwing five innings with two earned runs, seven strikeouts and one walk. He now has a 4.73 ERA at Triple-A on the year, but struggled mightily in his lone MLB appearance, allowing ten earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He’ll stick around as depth for the club, who could potentially trade some arms between now and the August 2 deadline.
- The Rangers announced that right-hander Demarcus Evans cleared outright waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock. Evans does not have three years of MLB service time and hasn’t previously been outrighted in his career, meaning he will head to Round Rock and try to earn his way back onto a roster spot. In 26 1/3 MLB innings this year, he has a 5.13 ERA with a strong 27.5% strikeout rate but worrisome 13.3% walk rate. In Triple-A, the control problems are even more pronounced, though in a small sample of just 12 innings. His ERA at Round Rock this year is 7.50, along with a 29.8% strikeout rate and 24.6% walk rate.
Rangers Announce Series Of Roster Moves
The Rangers announced a pile of roster moves today, in addition to a couple of moves that were announced after yesterday’s game. Last night, left-hander Taylor Hearn and infielder Ezequiel Duran were optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. Today, a third opening was created when right-hander Matt Bush was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 25, with right forearm soreness. Those openings will be filled by Steven Duggar, Glenn Otto and Josh Sborz. Duggar was recently acquired from the Giants in a trade. Otto has been reinstated from the COVID IL while Sborz was recalled from Round Rock. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Otto, right-hander Demarcus Evans was designated for assignment.
Evans, 25, was a 25th round pick of the Rangers back in 2015. He was added to the team’s 40-man roster prior to the 2019 Rule 5 draft. His last start was back in A-ball back in 2017, as he’s been purely a reliever since then. He logged 30 1/3 MLB innings over 2020 and 2021 with a 4.75 ERA. He racked up strikeouts at a healthy 27.6% clip in that sample, though with a 11.9% walk rate and 20.5% ground ball rate.
He’s generally fared well in the minors but is having poor results so far this year. Through 12 innings for Round Rock, he has a 7.50 ERA. He’s still getting strikeouts 29.8% of the time, but with a 24.6% walk rate and 11.5% ground ball rate. He’s in his final option year, meaning a team that acquires him could stash him in Triple-A for the rest of the year, provided they’re willing to give him a spot on the 40-man roster.
As for Bush, 36, the news of forearm soreness is potentially ominous, especially given his lengthy injury history. In 2018, he underwent surgery to deal with a partially torn ligament and attempted to return in the latter half of 2019. At that point, he suffered a torn UCL and required Tommy John surgery, the second time he would have to undergo that procedure. The Rangers signed him to a two-year minors deal to cover his rehab over 2020 and eventual return in 2021. A flexor strain limited him to just four innings last year, after which he was outrighted and then re-signed to yet another minor league deal by the Rangers. He made the Opening Day roster this year and has thrown 26 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 36.8% ground ball rate. He’s emerged as a high-leverage option for the club, racking up a save and eight holds on the season.
The club hasn’t provided any estimates on his absence and he will surely undergo more testing. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays that this move is being characterized as “precautionary” but also adds that the club was insisting that Bush was not injured as recently as yesterday. More news will surely be released in the days to come, though Bush has now thrown just over 30 total innings over the past four years due to persistent arm troubles, making it fair to wonder just how much the Rangers can rely on him going forward. For what it’s worth, Bush himself doesn’t seem overly concerned, telling Levi Weaver of The Athletic that he just needs a few days’ rest. Manager Chris Woodward says that the overworked bullpen couldn’t afford to give a roster spot to an unavailable reliever, which necessitated the IL placement.
Texas Notes: No-Hitter, Pena, McCullers, Duran, Hearn, Garver
Cristian Javier, Hector Neris, and Ryan Pressly combined for the 14th no-hitter in Astros history, as Houston earned a 3-0 win over the Yankees today in the Bronx. Javier handled much of the work over seven innings, with Neris and Pressly each contributing an inning of hitless pitching to stifle the lineup of the league-leading Yankees. It was the first time in over 19 years that New York had been no-hit, also at hands of the Astros — six Houston pitchers blanked the Yankees on June 11, 2003.
More from both the Astros and Rangers, as we run down baseball news from the Lone Star State….
- Jeremy Pena is likely to return to Houston’s lineup on Sunday, as the rookie shortstop took batting practice today. Left thumb discomfort sent Pena to the 10-day injured list on June 15, though an MRI didn’t reveal any damage. It thankfully looks like only a minor injury for Pena, and he’ll now get to resume his outstanding rookie season. Making his MLB debut earlier this year, Pena has hit .277/.333/.471 with nine homers over his first 211 plate appearances, though his hot bat had been cooling off in the two weeks prior to his IL stint.
- Lance McCullers Jr. was the pitcher throwing to Pena, with McCullers tossing around 20 pitches during the overall BP session. McCullers told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters that his repertoire included changeups, sinkers, and a slider, and he was throwing as hard as 93mph. Since suffering a flexor tendon strain during last year’s postseason and then a rehab setback in January, McCullers has been slowly working his way back, and is still likely a month or so away from a minor league rehab assignment.
- After today’s 3-2 win over the Nationals, the Rangers optioned left-hander Taylor Hearn and infielder Ezequiel Duran to Triple-A. Corresponding moves will be made prior to tomorrow’s game. Hearn was the bulk pitcher in today’s bullpen game, allowing only two walks over four scoreless innings, though it was a rare quality outing an otherwise rough season for the southpaw. Even with today’s game on his ledger, Hearn still has a 5.86 ERA over 63 innings, starting 13 of his 14 games. Texas called Duran up to the majors for his MLB debut earlier this month, and the top-100 prospect hit .258/.281/.435 with two home runs over 64 PA. Duran had been seeing most of the playing time at third base, but with Josh Smith now back from the IL, Duran will continue his development with an everyday role at Triple-A rather than part-time duty in the Show.
- Mitch Garver went 0-for-2 with a walk against the Nats today, dropping the veteran’s slash line to .201/.288/.383 for the season, over 170 PA. Garver has been trying to play through a damaged flexor tendon in his throwing forearm, but he told reporters (including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News) that he would make a decision by the All-Star break whether or not to undergo season-ending surgery. With a 7-8 month recovery time required for the surgery, Garver would miss little to none of Spring Training by getting the procedure relatively soon. It is possible Garver could instead try to rehab the forearm problem without surgery, but Grant writes “that route is more uncertain” in terms of a recovery timeline or what it might mean for Garver’s 2023 season. Since suffering the flexor injury, Garver hasn’t been able to play catcher, so the Rangers have been limiting him to DH or pinch-hitting duty.
Rangers Outright Spencer Patton To Triple-A
The Rangers announced that right-hander Spencer Patton has been outrighted off the 40-man roster and assigned to Triple-A Round Rock. Patton was designated for assignment earlier this week.
Now in his fifth MLB campaign, Patton has a 3.86 ERA and 52.6% grounder rate over seven innings this season, all in April. He then missed just under three weeks on the injured list due to an oblique strain, and was assigned to Triple-A after his activation.
This is Patton’s second stint in Texas, as the 34-year-old broke into the big leagues with the Rangers in 2014-15. An offseason trade to the Cubs saw Patton contribute 21 1/3 innings of 5.48 ball to the 2016 World Series champs, and that was also Patton’s last Major League experience prior to a four-year stretch in Nippon Professional Baseball. Patton performed well with the Yokohama BayStars, as his 3.68 ERA over 205 2/3 relief innings in Japan caught the attention of big league scouts, and eventually led to the Rangers signing Patton to a split contract in February 2021.
The return to the majors was largely successful, as Patton had a 3.83 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate over 42 1/3 frames with Texas last season. However, Patton has seemingly become an odd man out of the bullpen picture for now, though by passing through the waiver wire unclaimed, he’ll remain in the Rangers organization and wait for another call at some point this summer.
Giants Acquire Willie Calhoun From Rangers For Steven Duggar
The Giants and Rangers have agreed to a swap of position players. The Rangers will send Willie Calhoun to the Giants in exchange for outfielder Steven Duggar, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Giants will also receive cash considerations from Texas, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
San Francisco had a decision to make on Duggar, who needed to be added back to the 40-man roster after completing his rehab assignment. Calhoun himself just recently passed through waivers unclaimed.
The plan is for Duggar to join the active roster. The Rangers will designate Spencer Patton for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Duggar, per the team. They will need to make one more move to make room on the active roster for Duggar. Patton, 34, had made seven appearances for the Rangers, posting a 3.86 ERA/5.70 FIP across seven innings.
In Duggar, the Rangers are acquiring a player with more defensive utility than Calhoun, who never really found a defensive home. Duggar can play all three outfield spots. He had been on the injured list since April 21 with a strained oblique, however. He has appeared in each of the past five seasons for the Giants, accruing an overall line of .242/.297/.377 over 805 plate appearances with a too-high 29.4 percent strikeout rate and too-low 7.0 percent walk rate.
With Luis Gonzalez going on the injured list today, the Giants could easily have brought Duggar back to the Major League roster, so it’s interesting that they decided to move on. As a left-handed hitter, Duggar’s skill set doesn’t compliment the Giants’ current cohort of outfielders that includes Gonzalez, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, and LaMonte Wade Jr., who himself is almost ready to return from the injured list. Only Slater among that group bats right-handed.
Of course, Calhoun bats lefty as well, so he’s less of a fit acquisition and more of a rehabilitation project for the staff in Triple-A. Broadly speaking, the Giants work wonders finding roles for players who have been previously unable to find a defined role on a big-league club. Players like Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf, and Thairo Estrada are players that have found a home in San Francisco’s system. Calhoun has had his opportunities in the bigs, and while he’s no longer a prospect, the Giants are as promising a landing spot as a young vet like Calhoun can hope to find in this league. For now, the Giants can send him directly to Triple-A without adding him to their 40-man roster.
Rangers Select Meibrys Viloria, Option Sam Huff
The Rangers shuffled their backup catcher situation this evening, selecting Meibrys Viloria onto the MLB club and optioning Sam Huff to Triple-A Round Rock. Texas also reinstated infielder Josh Smith from the 10-day injured list, brought back Mitch Garver from the COVID-19 IL, and returned Zach Reks and Jesús Tinoco to Round Rock. (Tinoco will no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, as he’d been added to the MLB team as a designated COVID substitute). To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Viloria, outfielder Eli White has moved from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Viloria is headed to the big leagues for the first time as a member of the Texas organization. He played in 67 games with the Royals between 2018-20, hitting .215/.267/.287. Kansas City outrighted him off the 40-man roster last April, and he elected free agency at the end of the season after spending the entire year in the upper minors. Viloria latched on with the Rangers on a non-roster pact just before the lockout.
The lefty-hitting backstop has spent the entire season with Round Rock. He’s posted an eye-opening .344/.471/.512 line through 155 plate appearances to earn his way back to the majors. Those results have been propped up by an unsustainable .444 batting average on balls in play, but he’s also walked at a massive 17.4% clip. Viloria’s still just 25 years old and was a fairly well-regarded prospect during his time in the Royals’ system, so perhaps he’ll be able to carry some of that form over against big league arms. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Rangers can freely move him between Arlington and Round Rock now that he’s on the 40-man roster.
Huff heads back to Triple-A, where he’s posted a .260/.349/.575 line in 19 games. He’s hit .282/.320/.352 in 27 MLB contests this year, but he’s collected only three extra-base hits and is striking out at a 28% clip. Huff has run into a rough patch since the calendar flipped to June, while first baseman Nathaniel Lowe has caught fire. Between Jonah Heim at catcher, Lowe at first base and Garver’s return at designated hitter, there wasn’t going to be room in the lineup for Huff most days.
Smith missed nearly three weeks battling a shoulder sprain. The rookie steps in at third base tonight, where he’s likely to split time with fellow first-year player (and former Yankees prospect) Ezequiel Durán. Garver and starter Glenn Otto both went on the COVID list two weeks ago; Garver steps back into the MLB lineup, while Otto is headed to Round Rock for what figures to be a brief rehab stint before being activated.
White, meanwhile, suffered a fracture in his right wrist last week. He underwent surgery and is unlikely to begin any baseball activities before the start of August, meaning he’ll miss at least a couple months.
Rangers Activate Jose Leclerc From Injured List
The Rangers announced they’ve reinstated reliever José Leclerc from the 60-day injured list. He’ll be active for tonight’s contest in Detroit, potentially setting him up for his first big league appearance in two years. Texas also activated reliever Brett Martin and outfielder Steele Walker from the COVID-19 IL. Walker and left-hander Kolby Allard have been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to free active roster space. Tyson Miller, who’d been brought up as a designated COVID substitute, was taken off the 40-man roster and returned to the minors after two appearances.
Leclerc’s return is the biggest development for the Rangers, as it marks the end of a 15-month rehab process. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery just before Opening Day last year, costing him a season and a half worth of action. That came on the heels of a 2020 campaign in which he was limited to two appearances because of a shoulder strain, meaning he hasn’t seen extended action since 2019.
Before the health concerns threw his career off track, Leclerc looked as if he might emerge as one of the sport’s better late-inning arms. He’s shown swing-and-miss stuff throughout his career, but he was particularly effective in 2018. Leclerc posted a 1.56 ERA in 57 2/3 innings that season, striking out an elite 38.1% of opponents with a personal-low 11.2% walk rate. The following offseason, Texas signed him to a $14.75MM guarantee to buy out a pair of potential free agent seasons.
Leclerc’s control regressed in the first year of the deal, and he pitched to an underwhelming 4.33 ERA through 68 2/3 innings. Injuries have cost him the next two and a half seasons, but he’ll finally step back into the bullpen for skipper Chris Woodward. He tossed nine innings over as many appearances on a minor league rehab stint before returning to the MLB roster.
The 2022 season is the final guaranteed year of the aforementioned extension. Leclerc is making $5.25MM, and the club holds successive options for the next two seasons. They’ll have to decide on a $6MM option or a $750K buyout at the end of this year, making the next few months particularly critical for Leclerc’s long-term earning potential.