Athletics Sign Former Texas Rangers Closer

The A's announced on Friday that they have come to terms on a one-year deal with former Texas Rangers right-handed reliever José Leclerc. To make room for Leclerc on the 40-man roster, the A's designated righty Will Klein for assignment. Klein had been part of the return from the Kansas City Royals in the Lucas Erceg trade last summer.

Leclerc, 31, originally signed with the Rangers back in 2010 out of the Dominican Republic, and made his MLB debut in 2016 with the club. Over his eight seasons with the team, Leclerc went 12-20 with a 3.27 ERA along with 1.22 WHIP and 41 saves across 360 1/3 innings.

While he only collected four saves for the Rangers during the 2023 regular season, he matched that total in the postseason, posting a 3.29 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP in 13 2/3 innings en route to Texas' World Series win. One of those saves came in the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and another two came in the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

He posted a 4.32 ERA (3.48 FIP) this past season. The ERA was one of the highest of his career, but his FIP was right in line with his career norm, while tossing 66 2/3 innings--seven outs shy of a career high.

The is the biggest addition that Leclerc brings to this club is his postseason experience. The righty is a veteran arm that manager Mark Kotsay can just plug into the eighth inning to set up closer Mason Miller, and he not only has experience pitching in the biggest games of a baseball season, but he has also thrived in those situations. That can be a very useful skillset for an A's team that is hoping to push for .500 in 2025, and potentially surprise some people.

With the addition of Leclerc, the A's bullpen is also much deeper. Two of their best relievers a year ago, Tyler Ferguson (3.68 ERA, 3.28 FIP) and Michel Otañez (3.44 ERA, 2.73 FIP) were both rookies a year ago.

Relying on them to handle the seventh and eighth innings as the bridge to Miller would have put a lot of pressure on the duo to replicate their success from a year ago in order for the team to achieve its goals.

With Leclerc on board, Ferguson and Otañez can drop down to the sixth and seventh innings, and if they're pitching like they did last year, then the games will effectively be shortened. The bullpen now has a good amount of depth, and plenty of upside to work with.

The one addition the A's could still make would be a veteran left-hander, with T.J. McFarland being the lone lefty in the mix at the moment. The Athletics also have Hogan Harris and Brady Basso as potential options in the 'pen, but they're viewed more as long relief options that don't necessarily fill the same purpose--unless a change in roles is coming.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Leclerc's deal with the A's is for $10 million. With his salary, the A's projected luxury tax payroll sits at just over $106 million. To appease the MLBPA, the team was expected to need to reach a $105 million payroll since they receive a 100% share of revenue sharing, as outlined in the CBA. Adding Leclerc has seemingly put the A's in the clear on that front.