Rangers Must Address Bullpen Struggles to Help Get Wayward Season on Track

The Texas Rangers have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this season for a multitude of reasons.

Their lack of offensive production is certainly concerning, especially since they entered the year with some people believing they had the best lineup in baseball.

It has been disappointing to see their performance at the plate, but one area the team took a head-scratching route to address was the bullpen.

A ton of depth was added this offseason to help offset the loss of Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Andrew Chafin and Jose Leclerc. But none of those additions had much late-game experience as a closer, which has come back to haunt them.

Out of the relief pitchers added over the winter, the Rangers have decided to go with Luke Jackson most often as their closer.

Why Has Luke Jackson Struggled So Much?

He has found some success, registering eight saves, but he has been far from efficient while doing it.

Jackson has a 6.00 ERA and -0.7 WAR through 15 appearances and 12 innings with 11 stirkeouts and five walks. He has given up multiple runs in three outings and based on some of his underlying statistics, more implosions of that nature are on the horizon.

He is average to below-average in virtually every metric on Baseball Savant. The most telling thing about his struggles is the incredibly low Stuff+ he has registered.

As shared by Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required), Jackson has the lowest Stuff+ in baseball with an 87 amongst players with at least three saves.

He doesn’t have the kind of pitching profile normally owned by a closer, which was a cause for concern off the bat.

Those concerns have manifested in three losses already this season, but he does have only one blow save on his record to this point.

If Texas wants to turn things around this year, addressing the bullpen is one of the items near the top of their to-do list. Adding a bona fide late-game option is a must to be a contender.