When the Rangers came storming out of the gate to begin the season, the one area that could easily be pinpointed as their potential downfall was the bullpen.
That remains the case in September.
Texas continues to struggle to piece together its bullpen, and it's costing them games. They’ve deployed Will Smith and Jose Leclerc for the late innings throughout the season, then tried to shore up the bullpen ahead of the deadline by trading for Aroldis Chapman and Chris Stratton.
That has done little to ease the issues though, and with the Rangers’ place in the postseason far from guaranteed, they need to figure something out.
Bruce Bochy has managed plenty of bullpens throughout his career, but the wire-to-wire struggles, he conceded to the K&C Masterpiece, is new territory for him.
“Not quite like this, to be honest,” Bochy said. “It kind of started early in the season, as you know, when we had to start making adjustments with Johnny Hernandez who was struggling, Leclerc lost some confidence there, it’s been ongoing.
“Usually, if you have a set closer that’s staying hot and staying consistent, then you can build from there and kind of piece it together. We haven’t quite had that like I think we can, I know we’re running out of time, but we still believe we have guys that can do the job down there.
“Leclerc got on a nice run there, Stratton has done a good job coming in tight situations and finding a way to get out of it. It’s there, we've got to try to help these guys be the best version of themselves because we need them, as I’ve said. It’s not like we’re looking at these starters to go nine, but I think we have the guys that can do it. I really believe it’s going to get better."
