Former Rangers Reliever Jose Leclerc to Miss Remainder of Season with Injury

Jose Leclerc went to the Athletics for a fresh start. But this season ended up being a lost one for the former Texas Rangers reliever.

Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reported that Leclerc will undergo shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the season.

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The right-hander has been on the injured list since April 23 with a right lat strain. He was on the 15-day IL initially and then moved to the 60-day IL on April 30.

Leclerc will come back to Arlington for the surgery, which will be performed by Texas Rangers team surgeon Dr. Keith Meister.

The lat strain limited him to 10 appearances with the Athletics. He went 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA. He struck out eight and walked five in nine innings. He had one hold and did not record a save in two chances.

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He signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Athletics in the offseason, so he will be a free agent for the 2026 season.

Before that, he had only played for the Rangers. The Rangers signed him as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. He needed six years to reach the Majors, making his debut with Texas in 2016.

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At one time it was hoped he would be the team’s closer of the future. He had more than 10 saves in a season twice — 12 in 2018 and 14 in 2019.

But his career was set off course during the COVID-19 season in 2020 after he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He missed the 2021 season as a result.

He returned in 2022 and showed enough to lead the Rangers to believe he could be their closer in 2023 He earned the job coming out of spring training but lost it by the end of April. He remained in a set-up and gave Texas quality innings during their run to the 2023 World Series.

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He then assumed a high-volume set-up role in 2024, making 64 appearances, his most since making 70 in 2019.

For his career he is 12-21 with a 3.34 ERA in 360 games, all but three in relief. He has 41 saves, 481 strikeouts and 205 walks in 369.1 innings.  

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