Texas Rangers: Assessing a potential Jose Leclerc trade

For the rebuilding Texas Rangers, a Jose Leclerc trade is logical and could replenish the farm system. What return would be plausible for the righty?

Over the past decade, the idea of a powerhouse bullpen has become the norm around Major League Baseball.

If you look at every team in the World Series over the past decade, a majority have relied on a very good and deep bullpen.

This really kicked in when the Royals won the championship in 2015, with a loaded bullpen anchored by Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson and Luke Hochevar.

The Texas Rangers have a surplus of hard-throwing, right-handed relievers, both in the major leagues and in the minors.

Especially in a rebuild, the Rangers front office must look at all areas to improve, and that begins with dealing from your deepest position.

That leads us to believe Jose Leclerc would be available, at the right price.

Leclerc not only has several years of control, but when he’s healthy, he can be one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball.

So, what might a deal for the controllable righty look like?

Here are a few key takeaways when looking to deal for Jose Leclerc.

Recently traded relievers

Every year, contending teams look to add in one way or another, but primarily on the pitching front.

In recent years, relievers have been the key to World Series winning teams, like the aforementioned Royals, Cubs and Dodgers.

The Washington Nationals made a trade in 2017 with the Oakland A’s, acquiring Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson for a handful of prospects, including Jesus Luzardo.

As recently as this year, the Angels acquired Raisel Iglesias from the Reds.

So, why bring these names into play?

Doolittle and Iglesias, in particular, are very comparable to Leclerc and here’s why.

Doolittle had three remaining years of control left, and Iglesias, at his best, put up very similar numbers to Leclerc.

We’ll break each of those down separately.

Contractual Obligation

Looking deeper into the financials is where we find the Sean Doolittle comparison.

At the time of the trade, Doolittle was owed roughly $1 million for the remainder of the 2017 season, with three years of control left on his deal.

He was guaranteed $4.35 million in 2018, with club options for the 2019-2020 seasons for $6 and $6.5 million.

Similarly, Leclerc is under control until 2024, on a very cheap contract.

In 2021, Leclerc will earn $4.5 million and will increase to $5.25MM, $6MM and $6.25MM over the next three seasons.

The 2023 and 2024 seasons are both team options.

When comparing the two, the contracts are almost identical in length and value.

Even after a down year, the contractual obligations are too affordable, by MLB standards, to pass up.

What would be coming back to the Texas Rangers for Leclerc?

When looking at a potential return, based off the Doolittle/Madson and Iglesias deals, the Texas Rangers could get a hefty package back.

In the Doolittle deal, the A’s received Blake Treinen, Jesus Luzardo and Sheldon Neuse back from the Nats.

Treinen was in the big leagues, Neuse ranked 4th and Luzardo ranked 13th in the Washington system.

As for the Iglesias deal, the Reds received Noe Ramirez, a big league reliever, and Leo Rivas, the Angels’ 25th ranked prospect.

Keep in mind, Iglesias is a free agent after this season. Also, the A’s sent two prominent relievers to Washington.

If the Rangers dealt Leclerc today, I believe they could acquire a top 5 prospect or a big league ready player in return.

If they decided to package Leclerc with another player, maybe like Ronald Guzman or a prospect, they may be able to receive more of a Washington/Oakland package.

Who’s Interested?

Around the league, most teams are looking to shed payroll, but still remain competitive.

For any of those teams, Jose Leclerc helps any contending team and will keep payrolls low.

After acquiring Corey Knebel and re-signing Blake Treinen, the Dodgers are probably out.

The White Sox just signed Liam Hendricks to a three year deal, so they’re out.

Two teams the Rangers are very familiar with are settling in and looking to add elsewhere.

So, who’s left?

The Yankees, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals and Twins are all potential fits for the Texas Rangers closer.

If we had to narrow that down, I’d say the Phillies and Twins would be the best fits for Leclerc.

The Phillies have a glaring need for bullpen help, even after acquiring Jose Alvarado from the Rays, as they posted a collective bullpen ERA of 7.11 in 2020.

For the Twins, they just lost Trevor May to Steve Cohen and the Mets, so they need to fill a hole left in their bullpen.

As for the Braves, Yankees and Cardinals, they all have very good bullpens already, and Leclerc would only add to their deep pool of talent and wouldn’t be considered a necessity for any of them.

Texas Rangers and Jose Leclerc: Final thoughts

Jose Leclerc has had an up-and-down career with the Rangers, but has enough upside to be intriguing for any team that needs relief help.

I firmly believe that the Texas Rangers and Leclerc will part ways before the 2021 trade deadline, if not before Spring Training.

I would expect the Texas Rangers to capitalize on Leclerc’s affordability and upside sooner rather than later, but not force a deal if the prospect package doesn’t do him justice.