Jose Leclerc Won't Play in WBC

Texas Rangers reliever José Leclerc will not pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, per manager Bruce Bochy.

Leclerc will skip the WBC due to left neck discomfort, which the Rangers disclosed on Wednesday. The goal was to let Leclerc rest for a few days and determine his availability.

On Thursday, Bochy said in Surprise that Leclerc won’t play in the WBC.

Bochy had previously spoken about Leclerc’s participation in the WBC, saying it would be a good thing for the reliever and that he had no doubt that Leclerc would remain on time and ready for Opening Day while he was participating.

That was before Leclerc’s setback. Leclerc has pitched once in Spring Training, throwing a scoreless inning in relief against Cincinnati on Sunday.

He was on the WBC official rosters that were announced last month.

This means the Rangers are down to two players that will participate in the WBC. Martín Pérez will pitch for Venezuela and Rangers prospect Mitch Bratt will pitch for Canada.

Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who had previously committed to pitching for Team USA, was not on the announced roster and has not been added.

Leclerc started last season on the Rangers’ 60-day injured list as he continued his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

Leclerc ended up with his best season since 2018, when he went 2-3 with 1.56 ERA and 16 saves. By season’s end, the Rangers slid him back into the ninth-inning role he had before surgery and he recorded all of his saves after Aug. 14.

Leclerc had a 15.00 ERA in his first three appearances of the season. After that, his monthly splits in July (2.35), August (2.04) and September (1.54) showed that his command and arm were coming around.

Leclerc finished 0-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 39 appearances (all in relief). He had seven saves and four holds.