Texas Rangers: Let's pay homage to the saving grace of the season

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TORONTO, ON – APRIL 27: Keone Kela #50 of the Texas Rangers delivers a pitch in the ninth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 27, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

The Texas Rangers bullpen has been a pleasant surprise in 2018. Through the many ups and downs in other performance areas, the pen has been steady.

Too much discussion has been had about the negatives of this Texas Rangers season. That’s how it goes when your team is 12 games under .500 and 18 games out of first place in June. However, there is always some good to takeaway, even in disappointing years. The good in 2018 is the Texas bullpen.

Who knows where the Rangers would be if they didn’t have a dominant closer and an all together quality pen. Actually, I suppose fans got a sample of that struggle very early in the year. In April, it seemed the performance from the bullpen would be similar to that of 2017’s. The Texas Rangers relief crew ranked 14th in the American League in 2017 with a collective 4.76 season ERA. Remember the stretch in which Sam Dyson blew like 20 consecutive saves?

ST PETERSBURG, FL – APRIL 18: Alex Claudio #58 of the Texas Rangers pitches during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on April 18, 2018 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

At the start of 2018…

A lot of unknowns surrounded the bullpen at the beginning of the year. The Rangers declared Keone Kela their closer, but he didn’t have the track record yet to where they could assume he’d have the role all year-long.

The organization took chances on a few veteran relievers, including Kevin Jepsen, Jesse Chavez and Chris Martin. Plus, the guys that did pitch well out of the pen last season came out struggling. Alex Claudio was struggling practically half way through May; Jose Leclerc and Matt Bush spent brief periods of time in the minors at the beginning of the year.

Jeff Banister was trying every combination of relief roles he could think of. Whether that was a bad approach or a good one, things finally started to settle down for the relief staff in May.

TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 9: Jake Diekman (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Now…

Now, the Texas Rangers have one of the league’s best bullpens. The pen is tied for the 5th best bullpen ERA (3.73) in the AL. Also, their 90 walks are the 5th fewest in the AL and their .245 BAA (Batting Average Against) is the 7th best. It is safe to say the previously mentioned concerns were answered in resounding fashion.

Keone Kela is one of two closers with 10+ plus saves who has yet to blow a save. The other is Houston Astros’ Ken Giles, but he’s only 11-for-11 in converted saves compared to Kela’s 17-for-17. Kela has proved himself as a legitimate closer. He throws an upper-90s mph fastball and he possesses a wipeout curveball. His dominant stuff is evidenced by his stunning .191 BAA. Kela has been a standout star. In fact, he has pitched well enough to be voted in as the Texas Rangers all-star representative in 2018.

Every reliever who pitches before Kela has done an outstanding job as well. After iffy starts to the year from Jake Diekman, Claudio and Chavez, all three have proven to be primary contributors to Rangers’ wins. Diekman has taken over in the set-up role. As a matter of fact, Banister let him close a game out in a save situation Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals. Claudio has regained form and Chavez has fulfilled his role as the team’s long reliever just about to perfection.

In addition, the team shed some weight by releasing veteran reliever Kevin Jepsen. This move opened Jose Leclerc to increased opportunity and Leclerc has not disappointed.

ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 22: Keone Kela #50 of the Texas Rangers pitches in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

Will the relief core stay together or separate as the Texas Rangers grind through trade season?

A team that has declared itself a seller will look to sell off players with the highest value. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately), Keone Kela’s value has skyrocketed throughout the course of 2018. Thus, the likelihood of trading Kela has also skyrocketed.

Given Kela’s youth and team control, the Rangers will be very cautious in trade negotiations for their elite closer. He is a guy that could maintain the closer role for years to come; therefore, the organization does not want to give him away for any sort of modest return. Texas will look to flip Kela to a contender, but only for a top prospect. If teams are not willing to match Texas’ demands, then Kela will remain a Texas Ranger.

As for the rest of the relief crew…Jake Diekman could certainly be on the move. He will be a free agent come the offseason and many teams should be interested in his weaponry from the left side. Leclerc could go, but that seems unlikely. Other than that, every reliever should stay put for the remainder of the year.

Next: Adrian Beltre to the Philadelphia Phillies?

We’ll see what happens up until the July 31st trade deadline. The Texas Rangers bullpen is just now starting to settle in as one of the league’s best. With that said, the future is at the forefront of General Manger Jon Daniels. Keeping the current relief unit together takes a back seat to setting the team up for the future.

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