Serious Issues Need Fixing in Texas Rangers Bullpen

The Texas Rangers' bullpen has back-tracked the past few weeks and Bruce Bochy knows the fix isn't quick.

ARLINGTON, Texas — No one needs to explain to Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy that the bullpen has a problem.

Solving it isn’t going to happen overnight. But the burden falls to him and the organization to figure it out.

“It’s going to be up to us to get this thing in order,” Bochy said.

A bullpen is more than just the closer. Will Smith has stabilized that area with eight saves, though as a team the Rangers are 9-for-17 in save chances entering Friday’s series opener with the Colorado Rockies at Globe Life Field.

The American League West-leading Rangers (26-17) open the three-game interleague series at 7:05 p.m. at Globe Life Field. Martín Pérez (4-1, 4.25) is scheduled to start for Texas.

The Rangers blew another potential save in Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves. This time it was Josh Sborz, who lost a two-run lead in the eighth inning, followed by the normally-reliable Brock Burke, who gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth.

Bochy wanted Sborz for that spot in the eighth, after Nathan Eovaldi had thrown seven strong innings. Sborz had thrown five shutout innings in his last four outings. He was in a groove. But he didn’t locate and put too many pitches in areas where the Braves could drive them.

“Sborzy’s been throwing the ball as well as anybody,” Bochy said. “I’ll give him credit for that. He probably made a couple of mistakes there.”

But he’s not the only one lately.

José Leclerc isn’t pitching in high-leverage situations right now and hasn’t pitched since Sunday, when he delivered a scoreless inning in a blowout win over Oakland. It was the first time he threw a scoreless inning since April 21.

Jonathan Hernández has some things to work out, Bochy said, after giving up eight earned runs in his last six innings, including three off two home runs against Atlanta on Tuesday.

Cole Ragans has given up five earned runs in his last 4 1/3 innings and has an 8.76 ERA in his last six relief appearances.

The bullpen’s overall ERA is more than 4.00 and ranked near the bottom of the American League after a promising start. In the last 13 games, the Rangers bullpen has a 7.12 ERA. It’s also allowed home runs in four straight games. The bullpen has also taken nine of the 17 losses.

Fixing it will be tricky. The bullpen’s most dependable arm is a starter right now, and Dane Dunning has excelled in that role. He’ll be in the rotation until Jacob deGrom returns from injury.

The Rangers have made small tweaks. Last week they designated Ian Kennedy for assignment and called up John King, and the left-hander has thrown two scoreless innings. Joe Barlow returned on Tuesday when the Rangers sent rookie starter Cody Bradford back to Triple-A Round Rock.

There are potential arms coming. Glenn Otto, Spencer Howard, Danny Duffy and Kyle Funkhouser are in line for rehab assignments, too. But three of the four have limited relief experience.

Down at Triple-A Round Rock, former Rangers reliever Taylor Hearn has a 0.57 ERA in 10 appearances. Dominic Leone has a 2-0 record with a 1.59 ERA in eight relief appearances. Yerry Rodriguez was just sent down to Triple-A, but he has a 1.93 ERA with the Express.

There is also the trade market, which hasn’t heated up yet.

But if this keeps up, the Rangers might have to light a match. Because the issues aren’t just about one pitcher. Bochy knows it, and he knows the impact an unbalanced bullpen can have on a season.

“Over the course of a season, you have eight relievers down there and you need them all to pitch well,” Bochy said. “They need to be consistent. I still say it’s a better staff down there than what’s happening right now.”

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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